A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2

A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2 is the twenty-sixth episode of the second season of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It is the second episode in a two-part season finale. Shining Armor and Princess Cadance are set to be married, but "Cadance" has plots to ruin Shining Armor's happily ever after and the future of Equestria.

Trapped
Continuing from the previous episode, Twilight Sparkle is imprisoned inside a cave. Using her horn to illuminate the cave, she finds herself imprisoned within the long-forgotten crystal depths of Canterlot, where "Princess Cadance" appears before her through the reflections on the crystal walls and mocks her, hinting on her motives and Shining Armor's involvement. Angered, Twilight tries to shoot the taunting reflection with blasts of magic, one of which destroys a wall to reveal a startled and disheveled Princess Cadance. Twilight immediately tackles her to the ground. The pink alicorn beseeches the unicorn not to hurt her; seeing that it is Twilight, Cadance claims to be the real Cadance, and claiming that the Cadance up in the castle is an impostor. With Twillight unconvinced that this is not another trick, Cadance performs the childhood rhyme she would do with Twilight, the same one that the fake did not recognize. Twilight's suspicions are banished and they embrace. The fake Cadance's distant cackle strengthens the friends' resolve to escape the cave and stop the wedding.

This Day Aria
Meanwhile, the imposter Cadance breaks into a song, a reference to the 1989 Disney movie The Little Mermaid, about finally fulfilling her lifelong dream. The fake Cadance wishes to marry Shining Armor - whom she has no feelings for - for her own purposes. At the same time, the real Cadance sings about how perfect the day was going to be, and her determination to save her fiancé.

Focus shifts back and forth between Twilight and Princess Cadance hurried and frantic escape and the imposter Cadance walking down the wedding aisle, her plans on the brink of fruition.

Chrysalis reveals her true identity
Twilight and Princess Cadance find themselves on a ledge directly under the wedding hall, able to hear Princess Celestia beginning the ceremony. Cadance begins to despair, but Twilight spots a shaft of daylight reflecting off the crystals near the ceiling. She teleports them by it but are confronted by Cadance's bridesmaids, who have been bewitched by the imposter.

In the wedding hall, Celestia is about to pronounce the couple as mare and colt when she is interrupted by Twilight bursting in. The imposter is discreetly infuriated about Twilight's persistence in protecting her brother, but when given an odd look by Celestia, she fakes tears over having "her special day" being ruined. The real Cadance appears, confusing the audience. When questioned, she explains to the imposter how she and Twilight escaped the bridesmaids. As they had advanced on the two, Cadance distracted them with a bouquet of flowers; when she tossed it away to the side, all three dived for it, leaving Twilight and Cadance free to fly out of the caverns. Cadance decries the bride as a dangerous changeling. The imposter, enraged, reverts to her true form in a burst of green fire; she is none other than Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings. She tells of her plot to use the power of Shining Armor's love to weaken him and the barrier he had cast over Canterlot, enabling her and her Changeling army to invade and claim Canterlot. Once they devour all the love available, this will give them more power then they've ever dreamed of, and eventually allow them to take the remainder of Equestria. Even as she speaks, the Changeling army is battering away at the protective pink sphere, moments away from breaching Canterlot's defenses.

Princess Celestia steps forth and says that even though Shining Armor is powerless, she can and will defend her subjects. After charging and locking horns with the invading leader, she flies up and fires a beam of magical light at Chrysalis, who retaliates with a beam of her own. The beams collide with great force, but after a short struggle, Chrysalis' beam gradually overwhelms Celestia's, and forcefully travels down the latter's, smacking her powerless to the floor, the tip of her horn scorched. As Twilight and her friends run to Celestia, Chrysalis is astounded by the power of Shining Armor's love, taking delight in the princess's defeat. Struggling to stay conscious, Celestia instructs the six ponies to retrieve the Elements of Harmony, the only hope for stopping Chrysalis.

Race to the Tower
Heeding their princess's command, the six ponies race through Canterlot's streets toward Canterlot Tower, where the Elements are held. The Changelings finally shatter the protective sphere and gleefully forward their invasion, chasing civilians and destroying property. The six ponies find themselves hemmed in by a crowd of hungry, vicious Changelings. The Changelings transform into identical copies of the six. With no other options, both forces lock themselves in combat. Using everything they can, from their hooves to Pinkie Pie's party cannon, the six ponies wipe out enough scores of Changelings one by one. However, their reprieve is short. Despite their valiant efforts, Canterlot Tower has already been overrun by Changelings. With the numbers stacked heavily against the main six, they are soon captured.

The power of love
Back in the wedding hall, the Changelings have imprisoned Celestia in a lime green goo cocoon. Princess Cadance has been glued to the floor with the same substance. Cadance defiantly insists that the six friends will put an end to her terror, only to see a group of Changelings walk in with the said ponies held in custody. Chrysalis gloats about how everyone but Twilight was too fixated on the wedding to notice anything abnormal. Hearing this, Applejack apologizes on behalf of the others. Twilight assures everyone that she has no hard feelings. The Changeling Queen grows even more smug and sings a stanza from the This Day Aria as she looks out the window at the chaos her minions are causing.

Unnoticed by Chrysalis, Twilight sneaks over to Cadance and blasts the goo substance off of her hooves, freeing her. Twilight urges her to try and break Shining Armor from the spell. In a teary embrace, Cadance breaks his trance with her spell of love. After having his love being fed off of for so long, Shining Armor is too weak to perform magic, but Cadance declares that her love will give him strength. The two connect horns, creating a powerful, bright pink, purple and white whirlwind of magic that lifts the couple into the air and shakes the whole room. All this time, the couple's eyes had been closed; when they look into each other's eyes, their bodies glow with bright white light and the ball of light explodes in a heart shape. The dazzled ponies shade their eyes from the blinding light, while Chrysalis and the Changelings are thrown out of Canterlot for good. Cadance and Shining Armour gently land on the floor as Twilight runs to check on the grateful Princess Celestia. From there, the preparations for the real wedding commence with eagerness and joy. The true bride appreciates the efforts of all the ponies, and montages of her and the main six highlight her goodwill.

The royal wedding
At the real ceremony, Twilight Sparkle, who has been welcomed back into the wedding, has taken her reinstated place as Shining Armor's Best Mare as their parents look on proudly from the audience. Celestia proudly pronounces Cadance and Shining Armor mare and stallion, and the two levitate their rings onto their horns. Celestia commends the heroism of Twilight and her friends by reinforcing the importance of trusting one's instincts and judgment. The bride and groom step out to a balcony to wave to a huge crowd of cheering ponies. As Shining Armor and Cadance kiss again, Celestia prompts Rainbow Dash, who hurls at top speed and creates a spectacular sonic rainboom.

The setting shifts to the wedding reception in the courtyard at night, where the newly-weds start dancing. Princess Luna joins her sister and the six ponies, innocently asking if she missed anything. As DJ Pon-3 works her turntables, Twilight sings one final song to conclude the night, while a montage of humorous and memorable photos taken during the party is shown. At the end, Shining Armor thanks her for all she has done and they come together for one more farewell embrace. Before departing, Cadance tosses her bouquet, which Rarity, in a screaming fit, snatches from the other bridesmaids. Twilight and her friends happily watch the couple's carriage depart, and Spike unknowingly humors them by saying that he has even better plans for the bachelor party. The episode ends as beautiful fireworks adorn the sky above Canterlot.

Quotes

 * Princess Cadance: No! Wait! Ugh! Please! Don't hurt me! Twilight, it's me! Please, you have to believe me. I've been imprisoned like you. The Cadance who brought you down here was an imposter.
 * Twilight Sparkle: Likely story!
 * Princess Cadance: Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves...
 * Twilight Sparkle and Princess Cadance: ...and do a little shake.
 * Twilight Sparkle: You remember me!
 * Princess Cadance: Of course I do. How could I forget the filly I loved to sit for the most?


 * Princess Celestia: Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you...
 * Twilight Sparkle: Stop!
 * Queen Chrysalis (as Cadance): Ugh! Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother? [sobbing] Why does she have to ruin my special day?
 * Princess Cadance: Because it's not your special day. It's mine.
 * Queen Chrysalis (as Cadance): What?! But how did you escape my bridesmaids!?


 * Queen Chrysalis: Ah, ah, ah. Don't want to go back to the caves, now do you? Ever since I took your place, I've been feeding off Shining Armor's love for you. Every moment he grows weaker and so does his spell. Even now my minions are chipping away at it.


 * Queen Chrysalis: Soon, my changeling army will break through. First, we take Canterlot. And then, all of Equestria!
 * Princess Celestia: No. You won't. You may have made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell, but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self, I can protect my subjects from you!


 * Pinkie Pie: [laughing] Do me! Do me! Meh, I've seen better.


 * Shining Armor: No! My power is useless now. I don't have the strength to repel them.
 * Princess Cadance: My love will give you strength.
 * Queen Chrysalis: [laughs] What a lovely, but absolutely ridiculous sentiment.


 * Princess Celestia: (to Twilight) Don't worry about me. I'm fine. You have a real wedding to put together.


 * Twilight Sparkle: Seriously, though. I get why the Queen of the Changelings wanted to be with you, but how did you get someone as amazing as Cadance to marry you?
 * Shining Armor: I told her she wouldn't just be gaining a husband, she'd be getting a pretty great sister too.


 * Princess Celestia: Mares and gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza...
 * Princess Cadance: Princess Cadance is fine.
 * Princess Celestia: Hm. The union of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. The strength of their commitment is clear. The power of their love, undeniable. (to Spike) May we have the rings please? I now pronounce you mare and colt.


 * Princess Celestia: (to Twilight) This is your victory as much as theirs. You persisted in the face of doubt, and your actions led to your being able to bring the real Princess Cadance back to us. Learning to trust your instincts is a valuable lesson to learn.


 * Princess Celestia: Rainbow Dash, that's your cue.
 * Rainbow Dash: Best wedding ever!


 * Princess Luna: Hello, everypony. Did I miss anything?


 * Shining Armor: Twilight! None of this would have been possible without you, little sis. Love ya, Twily.
 * Twilight Sparkle: Love you too, B.B.B.F.F.
 * Shining Armor: Ready to go?
 * Princess Cadance: Oh! Almost forgot.
 * Rarity: It's mine! Oof! Aha.


 * Twilight Sparkle: Now this was a great wedding.
 * Spike: Oh yeah? Just wait until you see what I have planned for the bachelor party!
 * Everypony: [laughing]