Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1

Go To

1%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
2%%
3%% SEEN IT BEFORE?: If it happens in different episodes to the same character, you could put the trope in that character's description on the Characters page.
4%%
5%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
6[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mlp_s2e25_acanterlotweddingparti_8968.jpg]]
7[[caption-width-right:350:Twilight's BBBFF and her Favorite Foalsitter...\
8[[NotHimself Or are they?]]]]
9
10->'''Twilight Sparkle:''' "Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and..." ({{gasp}}) ''...[[RememberTheNewGuy my brother]]?!''
11
12-> Written by Meghan [=McCarthy=]
13
14Twilight Sparkle is picnicking with her friends when Spike receives a list of instructions from Princess Celestia for the Mane Six to organize and support a wedding in Canterlot. They are confused until Spike produces the previous message announcing that Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is marrying Shining Armor -- Twilight Sparkle's ''older brother''.
15
16Twilight takes it very hard that her brother, with whom she was very close, didn't give her the news in person -- or even tell her he was seeing someone. She fears their relationship will never be the same now that she lives in Ponyville and he's getting married. Her worries preoccupy her all the way to Canterlot.
17
18When she confronts her brother, he is very happy to see her and clarifies her misunderstanding. The unknown "Mi Amore Cadenza" is actually Twilight's much-beloved foal-sitter, whom Twilight knew as "Cadance". Shining Armor goes on to explain that, due to a threat to the city, all his concentration is going into the constant upkeep of a spell of protection for Canterlot. Once he asks Twilight to be his Best Mare, Twilight is more than mollified about the wedding; she's pleased and very happy to see her childhood foalsitter -- until Cadance arrives and brushes off the SecretHandshake from their youth. Twilight is set on edge by this cold greeting from her old friend, but lets it go ...
19
20...until she sees Cadance feign appreciation of Applejack's cooking, sneer at Rarity's beautiful wedding gown design, and diss Pinkie Pie's reception planning. Twilight sits down with her friends and voices her displeasure, but the other five ponies downplay the incidents as just bridal nerves, which only increases Twilight's frustration because no pony believes her. When they suggest that Twilight is being possessive of her brother, she vehemently denies this and declares that there shouldn't even ''be'' a wedding before storming off. She goes to talk to Shining Armor but before she can voice her suspicions, Cadance arrives and demands his attention. Twilight eavesdrops on the ensuing conversation between the Princess and Shining Armor. Peeking through the door, she witnesses Cadance cast a spell on Shining Armor, cementing her concerns. She once again tries to convince her friends that something is wrong, only to find that Cadance has asked them to be her new bridesmaids, and none of them seem concerned with the sudden disappearance of the old bridesmaids. At the end of the rope, Twilight decides she's truly on her own.
21
22As the rehearsal for the wedding begins, Twilight bursts in and declares that she will not stand beside Cadance at the wedding, calls her ''evil'', and describes all she's seen, including the spell. Cadance bursts into tears and runs from the room. Shining Armor angrily reprimands his sister, contradicting each of her accusations (he explains that Cadance's magic was apparently to heal him from migraines, she got rid of her bridesmaids because they only wanted to meet Canterlot royalty, and her rude behavior was because of wedding stress), revokes her Best Mare title, and tells that she shouldn't bother to come to the wedding at all.
23
24Twilight's friends all leave her to go comfort Cadance, and even Princess Celestia coldly tells her, "You have a ''lot'' to think about," before leaving Twilight alone to contemplate her actions. Fearing she has irreparably damaged the relationship with her brother, Twilight reflects sadly on losing her [=BBBFF=][[note]]Big Brother Best Friend Forever[[/note]]. Cadance suddenly appears in the darkened hall, to whom Twilight murmurs "I'm sorry." The Princess gives a warm smile... before her eyes flash malevolently green.
25
26-->'''Cadance:''' You '''will''' be.
27
28Hellish green flames encircle Twilight and drag her down through the floor as Cadance gives an evil grin! She really ''is'' evil, and who knows what has become of our little pony heroine!
29
30'''''TO BE CONTINUED'''''
31
32[[MoodWhiplash *cue happy]] [[RunningGag credits music*]]
33
34!!Continued in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E26ACanterlotWeddingPart2 A Canterlot Wedding – Part 2]]".
35
36----
37!!Tropes:
38
39* ActorAllusion:
40** Shining Armor is "Captain of the guard", a profession once shared by Jaller in ''Toys/{{BIONICLE}}'', whom shares the [[Creator/AndrewFrancis same VA]] as Shining Armor.
41** Also, this wasn't the first time Creator/TaraStrong [[WesternAnimation/SymbionicTitan voiced a character using a sandwich for a puppet.]]
42** In Brazilian Portuguese, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance have the same voices as [[Anime/DragonBallZ Goku and Chichi]], also a married couple.
43* AffectionateGestureToTheHead:
44** Shining Armor gives Twilight an affectionate hoof noogie during the {{Flashback}} accompanying the "[=B.B.B.F.F.=]" song.
45** Princess Mi Amore Cadenza reaches out with a hoof and strokes Twilight's mane right before casting the fire circle and sending her under the castle.
46* AesopAmnesia: Once again, the ponies forgot the lesson learned in "Lesson Zero": do not dismiss your friends' concerns as overreacting even if they seem that way. Twilight also forgot the lesson she taught Pinkie Pie, ironically in the previous episode, about jumping to conclusions without getting evidence.
47* AlphaBitch: How Princess Mi Amore Cadenza acts. Except it's not really her.
48* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Twilight's "evidence" on Cadence.
49-->'''Twilight:''' She's been horrible to my friends, she's obviously done something to her bridesmaids, and she put a spell on my brother!
50* ArtShift: During Twilight's DarkReprise of her earlier song.
51* {{Backstory}}: Due to the RememberTheNewGuy nature of Shining Armor and Cadance's debuts, Twilight explains some of her backstory to ease the two in.
52* BarrierMaiden: Shining Armor serves as one here, as he's the only one who could erect a force field strong enough to protect Canterlot against an unknown threat, and the force field requires constant upkeep from him. Without him, the unknown threat would have open access to Canterlot.
53* BehindTheBlack: While Twilight and her friends are gathered around a table, Applejack peeks over Twilight's head so she can be seen... by the camera.
54* BestWoman: Shining Armor asks Twilight to be this. Until she accuses the bride of being evil.
55* BilingualBonus: Princess Cadance's full name is Mi Amore Cadenza, which is like "my love cadence" in a mix of Italian and Spanish.[[note]]It would be "Il mio Amore Cadenza" in Italian, and "Mi Amor Cadencia" in Spanish.[[/note]] This is fitting, given her cutie mark and special talent.
56* {{Bridezilla}}: Subverted. Mi Amore Cadenza acts like this, and Rarity theorizes it's due to the wedding planning pressure. She did want her day to be perfect, but she was also literally not herself.
57* BrokenPedestal: Twilight's first reaction to being told her brother is marrying Cadance is nothing more than absolute glee that her childhood friend and the "best foalsitter ever" is marrying her brother. Then she sees the {{Jerkass}} Cadance has become ([[RebuiltPedestal or seemed to]]). In the end, thanks to "Cadance", she ends up becoming this in everyone else's eyes to some degree.
58* CallBack:
59** Applejack is the caterer for the wedding like she was for the Summer Sun Festival in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon the very first episode]].
60** Fluttershy's bird choir makes a return like in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon Mare in the Moon]]" and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon the Brush Off]]".
61** Twilight is the organizer like in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon Mare in the Moon]]" and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E11WinterWrapUp Winter Wrap Up]]".
62** Rainbow Dash is called to perform her [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom.]]
63** We see that same kind of force field that Twilight conjured in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 The Return of Harmony Part 2]]" and in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E23PonyvilleConfidential Ponyville Confidential]]" except this time Shining Armor's the one who made it. She almost certainly learned it from Shining Armor, as Twilight has displayed the ability to [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E1TheCrystalEmpirePart1 learn a spell after only one viewing]].
64* TheCameo: Luna appears several times throughout the two-parter, though she has no bearing on the plot.
65* CareBearStare: One of Cadance's powers is the ability to spread love -- she uses it on an arguing couple, to make them instantly drop the (rather dumb) thing they were fighting about.
66* CassandraTruth: ZigZaggingTrope. Everypony dismisses Twilight's claim that Cadance is evil but then the next episode reveals that the jerk-Cadance was an impostor.
67* ChasteToons: Mi Amore Cadenza is Celestia's niece, despite Luna having come down from the moon only short while ago. Celestia adopted her, as explained in [[AllThereInTheManual Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell]] novelette.
68* ChekhovsGun: Cadance's signature spell (Seen in flashback) is to inspire love in its target. This becomes very important in the next episode
69* {{Cliffhanger}}: Twilight is captured!
70* ComicallyMissingThePoint: When "Cadance" dismisses Pinkie's plans as perfect for a six year-old's birthday party, Pinkie thanks her. Also see InsultBackfire.
71* ContinuityNod:
72** Pinkie plays the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury Parasprite Polka]] while demonstrating to Mi Amore Cadenza.[[note]]She was using it to portray The Chicken Dance, an old wedding tradition in some circles.[[/note]]
73** Twilight does her joyful jumping around thing both as a filly and an adult, like she did in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]".
74** The [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E3LessonZero Smarty Pants doll]] makes a brief reappearance in Twilight's flashback to Cadance. Twilight is pulling Smarty Pants out of a toy chest with her magic just before Cadance walks into the room. When Twilight sees Cadance, she drops Smarty Pants to get a hug. Smarty Pants is even seen with her quill and notebook!
75** In the same scene, near the roof is a kite exactly like the one Apple Bloom tried to learn to fly in "[[ReCap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E12CallOfTheCutie Call of the Cutie]]".
76** Nod to "[[ReCap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited for Success]]", possibly mixed with CharacterDevelopment. This time Rainbow Dash is able to articulate what she doesn't like about her dress and how it can be improved, and Rarity is more pleasant about making changes to it.
77* ControlFreak: Mi Amore Cadenza -- understandably, since it's her wedding and she has to do all the preparations by herself with her groom tied up with the upkeep of the protection spell. Though it's not the real princess, who is shown to avert this trope when it happens in the next episode.
78%%* CreatorCameo: [[http://www.ponibooru.org/post/view/170412 The female Pegasus]] in the flashback is a [[http://sibsy.deviantart.com/#/d4wnsuy creation of SIBSY]].%%
79* CrocodileTears: "Cadance" fake-cries after Twilight accuses her of being evil in front of everyone.
80* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: DoubleSubversion. Something’s definitely off about Cadance, but when Twilight fully confronts everyone about it, her brother gives her a big TheReasonYouSuckSpeech. Her friends and even Princess Celestia are angry at her. The scene goes on for long enough you could think maybe Cadance was just a severe {{Bridezilla}}. The {{Cliffhanger}} of the episode is that, yep, Twilight was right, Cadance is downright evil.
81* DamnedByFaintPraise: Twilight sees Princess Cadance's actions towards the other ponies like this. Too bad the other five are too caught up in the wedding plan to notice it.
82* DarkReprise: Of Twilight's "B.B.B.F.F." song, after she's alienated her brother.
83* DeflectorShields: The whole city of Canterlot gets one, courtesy of Shining Armor.
84* DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: Very subtle, but the last "forever" Twilight sings in "BBBFF" (not the reprise) is sung in tune of the ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'' theme.
85* DisappointedInYou: Celestia's response to Twilight Sparkle's apparently petty & jealousy-fueled accusations towards Cadance. Too bad Twilight turned out to be right.
86* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
87** "Cadance" trying to dictate what Shining Armor can or cannot wear and hurting him when he disagreed with her made their relationship creepily abusive.
88** "Cadance" acting like a jerk only around Twilight while sucking up to her friends by making them her new bridesmaids, and successfully pulling a WoundedGazelleGambit to turn everyone against her sounds a lot like {{Gaslighting}}, a common tactic that abusers use.
89* DraggedOffToHell: In a kid's show, no less! Jerk-Cadance's spell to drag Twilight down into the mines brings this to mind.
90* TheDulcineaEffect: Twilight's friends leave her for and defend a pony that they only met for about a day or two. Rainbow Dash's case is larger, due to her representing UndyingLoyalty and claiming that she barely ''spoke'' to "Cadance".
91* EasilyCondemned: Right after Twilight accuses Cadance of being evil and brainwashing Shining Armor, she gets quickly disproven and banned from the wedding. Everyone in the room then turns against Twilight and walks out on her without giving her a chance to explain properly despite all the good she has done for them over the two seasons, and this incident not being too dissimilar to the breakdowns she had that they experienced in the past. At the same time, it didn't cross Twilight's mind that the Cadance at the wedding might be fake and assumes that she just became evil after seeing her show uncharacteristic signs, even though she had happy memories of her when she was just a filly.
92* EtTuBrute: Shining Armor and Princess Celestia's disappointment towards Twilight for accusing Cadance as evil, and Twilight's friends leaving her afterwards plays with it. Although the real Et Tu moment is when Twilight realizes that "Cadance" is really evil. Confirming her suspicions, and moments before the evil bride drags her down to the underground mines. Ultimately reversed in the next episode for the former case.
93* EyeDentityGiveaway: When Queen Chrysalis, who has disguised herself as Princess Cadance, reveals herself to and banishes Twilight, Cadance's pink eyes briefly flash Chrysalis' vivid blue-green.
94* EyeRecall: A rare inversion occurs when Twilight is remembering her memories with Cadance; the camera zooms ''out'' of young Twilight's eye when the flashback begins, then it zooms ''in'' on her eye as it cuts back to the present.
95* FaintInShock: Rarity faints twice, once when she found out she was making dresses for a princess' wedding and again when she learns that she'll be making dresses for the wedding of a princess ''and'' the captain of the royal guard. Twilight magically produces a pillow for the second one.
96* ForceFieldDoor: The only way anybody can get into Canterlot, as "we don't know who's responsible" for the threat made against it.
97* {{Foreshadowing}}:
98** The shield around Canterlot is seen in the background during "B.B.B.F.F."
99** Shining Armor mentions early on that there was a threat made against Canterlot and he has been busy maintaining a shield. We also see his migraine reaction at doing it, which comes up later.
100** Cadance's confusion when Twilight greets her for the first time.
101** In Twilight's {{flashback}} we see that Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's magic aura is a light, silvery blue. In the present day, Cadance's aura is a SicklyGreenGlow.
102** When the song "B.B.B.F.F." repeats at the end of the episode, it ends on a minor note rather than a major one. In musical terms, this is known as a UsefulNotes/DeceptiveCadence (the first time the song ends, it is on an UsefulNotes/AuthenticCadence).
103** Also, [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/03/updated-billboard-size-more-parody.html the billboard for the episode]], which shows Twilight looking very suspicious.
104** While the ending of Part 1 bluntly reveals that Twilight's accusations of "Cadance" being evil were perfectly correct, only a split-second unnatural green flash in Cadance's eyes hints that she is not the real Cadance (nor even a pony) at all!
105** When Pinkie Pie goes over the games with Cadance, she rolls two dice. A close look at the dice reveals that she rolls two ones, or Snake Eyes. This roll is usually associated in most games with bad luck, and snakes themselves are associated with deceit and betrayal. Also, Cadence's impostor's true form has snake eye pupils.
106* FreezeFrameBonus: [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a653e25daf8bea166401a34de5e1c812.jpg The magic outline on Cadance's horn]] provides an extremely subtle bit of foreshadowing of the true nature of the villain.
107* FunWithAcronyms: Twilight's B.B.B.F.F. and Applejack's countering P.F.F.[[note]]Pony Friend Forever[[/note]], both of which require explanation.
108* FurryReminder: Twilight snorts during her fit of rage towards the beginning.
109* GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul: One of Cadance's powers is the ability to spread love -- she uses it on an arguing couple, making them instantly drop the (rather dumb) thing they were fighting about. Portrayed as a positive thing.
110* GoldDigger: The apparent reason for why "Cadance" replaced her bridesmaids with the Mane Five, as they were just using her to get close to Canterlot royalty.
111* HeroicTeamRevolt: All of Twilight's friends leave her without saying a word, along with Shining Armor and Princess Celestia after she proclaims Cadance as evil right before Twilight's proclamations turn out to be partially right.
112* HoistByHisOwnPetard: "Cadance" succeeds in keeping up her ruse even after Twilight calls her out. Even Twilight gives up her suspicions when all her friends turn their backs on her. But "Cadance" [[JustBetweenYouAndMe insists on gloating]] to Twilight that she was right all along afterwards, thus not only confirming Twilight's suspicions but allowing her to eventually spoil the evil plan.
113* HopeSpot: During Twilight's MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment, "Cadance" appears and gently strokes her mane. Twilight tearfully says that she's sorry, and it seems like the two are going to reconcile... until "Cadance" pulls out her SlasherSmile and imprisons Twilight beneath the castle.
114* IAmSong: "B.B.B.F.F." is a song that both describes what kind of pony Shining Armor is and also gives us more insight into Twilight's childhood.
115* ImposterForgotOneDetail: Twilight first becomes suspicious of Cadance after she scoffs at their SecretHandshake and seemingly doesn't remember her. However, Twilight is only suspicious of Cadance being a jerk, ''then'' being "evil", rather than thinking that she's a fraud. Strangely, no one notices that Cadance isn't using the right color magic. Justified in that Twilight is the only one of the six who has met Cadance, and may not remember what color her magic was. That's if ponies can even see magic as well. But if they can, Twilight may have thought nothing of it, as she might not have seen Cadance in years, and magic auras may change over time, as some ponies are shown having different color auras sometimes, as Season 1 Twilight had a paler shade of magic aura and Celestia was once shown having a blue/pink magic aura.
116* InSeriesNickname:
117** Twilight's brother calls her "Twily".
118** Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is called Cadance by Twilight Sparkle and herself prefers to be called Cadance.
119* InsultBackfire: The Princess says Pinkie Pie's reception would be great... if they were hosting a six-year-old's birthday! Pinkie beams and thanks her.
120* IronicEcho: A nonverbal one; in Twilight's "BBBFF" song, she's shown absentmindedly crashing into Shining Armor, who scowls and then breaks into a grin. After Cadance runs out of the chapel crying, the same scenario happens, only this time Shining Armor is ''absolutely'' not smiling.
121* {{Irony}}: Twilight says in her song that she and her brother "never had a single fight", but that's clearly no longer the case by the end of the episode.
122* ItRunsInTheFamily: That breastplate that Shining Armor wants to wear for the wedding, which "was my favorite uncle's"? The six-pointed star on it features prominently in his and Twilight's cutie marks.
123* ItsTheBestWhateverEver: Best wedding ever, as cited by Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.
124* LearnedFromTheNews: The episode opens with Twilight getting a public announcement and invitation to her brother's wedding. This is the first she's heard about her brother's engagement, so she's not amused.
125-->'''Twilight:''' Yeah, ''great'' news. That I just got from a ''wedding invitation!'' Not from my brother, but from a piece of paper! Thanks a lot, Shining Armor. I mean, really, he couldn't tell me personally?
126* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x172zua Cadance has one]] that sounds like the ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'' theme with two extra notes inserted into each measure.
127* LohengrinAndMendelssohn: Wagner's Bridal Chorus appears during the rehearsal.
128* MadeOutToBeAJerkass: Poor Twilight goes too far to warn her friends that something was not right about Cadance, leading to her friends, and ''Celestia'', not to take her seriously. It turns out that Twilight was right all along, however.
129* MeaningfulName:
130** [[KnightInShiningArmor Shining Armor should be obvious.]]
131** Cadance is a variation of not only a musical term, but a heraldic one -- ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadency cadency]]'' marks denote the birth order of sons or daughters of a given line. So her name connotes nobility, just like Blue Blood. It also has a connection to the military, as the classic boot camp SoundOff is properly called a Cadence.
132** Also, there's a meaning for the music experts: the song "B.B.B.F.F." was sung in the key [=Db=] minor. That means the root key was a [=Db=] major chord. Usually, an [=Ab=] major chord would lead into a [=Db=] major at the end of the song; this is called a V-I chord progression and is musically termed as an "Authentic Cadence". However, the song resolves on [=Bb=] minor, the relative minor of [=Db=], to give it a sadder tone at the end. When a chord progression seems to be heading to a root chord but instead ends on the relative minor, that is called a UsefulNotes/DeceptiveCadence. First documented [[http://ponibooru.413chan.net/post/view/171219 here]][[note]]Note: the image is somewhat incorrect in that it is ''B.B.B.F.F.'' that does that little trick, not ''This Day Aria''.[[/note]], and subsequently [[WordOfGod confirmed by Daniel Ingram.]]
133* MelancholyMusicalNumber: "B.B.B.F.F.", as Twilight expresses her close relationship with her brother and worries about their future. The DarkReprise takes this even further when she thinks they'll never be friends again.
134* MoodWhiplash: Yep, [[RunningGag they do it again]] with the happy theme music at the end first half of a two-parter.
135* MusicalSpoiler: "B.B.B.F.F." has a subtle but major one which could only be spotted by people well-versed in musical theory. [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/04/day-arias-hidden-meaning.html The song ends with a chord progression known as a Deceptive Cadence]]. Confirmed by [[WordOfGod Word of Composer]].
136* MySisterIsOffLimits: Zigzagged trope. Twilight is outraged when she thinks her beloved BBBFF is marrying some random noble lady. Then she finds out that the bride is her surrogate big sister and thus the only pony she ''would'' approve of, but then she sees Cadance acting snotty and is back to square one but only because she thinks something is ''off'' with Cadance. Everyone else thinks Twilight is simply jealous. The viewer may be able to see in advance that Twilight is right, even if there is a ''little bit'' of this trope there too.
137* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Twilight after everyone walks out on her and she thinks she messed up. Unfortunately, this time she was ''right''.
138* MySisterIsOffLimits: [[InvertedTrope Inverted.]] Twilight is a younger sister being protective over her older brother and who he marries. [[JustifiedTrope Justified,]] though, considering Cadance was an impostor.
139* NonAnswer: Shining Armor is giving VERY evasive answers to Twilight’s (perfectly reasonable) questions about not being told about the wedding earlier, first evading the question by explaining about the threat against Canterlot, then distracting Twilight by asking her to be his best mare.
140* NotHelpingYourCase: Even before she became suspicious of Cadance, Twilight's grouchy attitude and possessiveness of her brother throughout the episode, along with her history of [[FreakOut freaking out]] does nothing to help her in trying to sway her friends to her side.
141* OOCIsSeriousBusiness:
142** Twilight initiates a song to talk about her brother. Since this is normally Pinkie Pie's thing, it shows how much Shining Armor means to her.
143** Celestia's looking worried [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E1TheReturnOfHarmonyPart1 again]]? We're doomed.
144** Cadance brushing off the SecretHandshake is what sets off the alarm bells in Twilight's head.
145* OutOfCharacterAlert: Twilight is devastated when Cadance refuses to do their secret hoof-shake when they were younger. She also notices she gives demands to everypony at will.
146* OutOfCharacterMoment: Rainbow Dash (along side the rest of Twilight's friends) abandons Twilight for Princess Cadance after her outburst towards the bride to be, despite representing UndyingLoyalty and having barely spoke to the princess.
147* PingPongNaivete: Spike gets all excited about organizing a bachelor party, but then asks what that is.
148* PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure: The episode ends with every last one of Twilight Sparkle's friends -- and her ''mentor!'' -- on the outs with her. Luckily, the status quo is back to normal almost as soon as the second part begins.
149* ProperlyParanoid: Twilight insists that the bride is ''evil'' and therefore shouldn't be allowed to marry her brother. Her behavior, however, makes everyone thinks she's jealous, but she turns out to be right.
150%%* RealitySubtext: It has not been lost on the fandom that Twilight and Cadance's relationship has an awful lot in common with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Nt2IVcrVkdc#! this particular story.]]
151* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Shining Armor gives one to Twilight Sparkle after she accuses Princess Cadance of being evil, going as far as uninviting her from the wedding.
152* RememberTheNewGuy: Twilights' FriendlessBackground was a key plot point in the pilot and came up again in later episodes. Now we learn that she had not only had a wonderful big brother but an ''equally'' wonderful surrogate big sister, both whom she saw as friends before she even new what friendship was about. Heavily lampshaded when her friends can't understand why she never mentioned either one of these supposedly close relationships to any of them.
153* SeasonFinale: The two episodes in season 2.
154* SecretHandshake: Twilight and Cadance have one.
155-->''"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"''
156* ShoutOut:
157** On the [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/03/updated-billboard-size-more-parody.html billboard]] image, Pinkie is wearing the [[http://www.rte.ie/ten/2011/0523/princessbeatrice.html same ridiculous hat that Princess Beatrice wore for the British Royal Wedding]]. All of the Mane cast save Applejack are wearing various hats photographed during the wedding, and even the flower in Applejack's hair resembles a hair decoration from the wedding.
158** Shining Armor's outfit has the same colors and overall design as Prince William's wedding attire, and by extension the uniforms worn by BritishRoyalGuards.
159* SiblingTeam: This is the first time we see Celestia and Luna tag-team.
160-->'''Luna:''' Rest, Sister. As always, I shall guard the night.
161* SicklyGreenGlow: Cadance's spells and Shining Armor's MindControlEyes. Astute viewers will notice that Cadance's spells weren't green in Twilight's flashback, providing some {{foreshadowing}} to the next episode's reveal.
162* SingleTear: Twilight at the end of "BBBFF," lamenting what she sees as the growing distance between herself and her brother.
163* SlasherSmile: Cadance gets one after summoning a circle of flames to drag Twilight away.
164* SocietyOnEdgeEpisode: This two-parter involved a wedding {{plan}} coinciding with a need for increased security due to a mysterious threat against Canterlot. (Turned out it was connected to the wedding, namely due to the involvement of [[EmotionEater Chrysalis and the changelings]] in each.)
165%%* StalkerWithoutACrush: Twilight herself towards Shining Armor and Princess Cadance.
166* StealthPun:
167** Applejack asks a downcast Twilight "Why the long face?", the punchline to that [[{{Pun}} terrible old horse/barman joke]].
168** Celestia takes care of the day, Luna takes care of the night, and Cadance takes care of the twilight.
169* SubvertedSuspicionAesop: As the recap states, Twilight is suspicious of Cadance, openly expresses her doubts, nobody believes her, and it turns out that Cadance was EvilAllAlong.
170* SuddenlyVoiced: Though very briefly, fan-favorites Minuette and Lyra Heartstrings speak for the first time outside of group scenes (in English[[note]]some of the foreign dubs voiced Lyra in earlier appearances[[/note]]), Minuette being voiced by Creator/CathyWeseluck.
171* SurprisinglyCreepyMoment: The ''{{Cliffhanger}}''. While there were some creepy moments before it, Cadance suddenly donning a SlasherSmile and [[DraggedOffToHell summoning a circle of flames to drag Twilight down to who knows where]] is horrifying.
172* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: When Applejack asks whether Twilight might be acting possessive of Shining Armor, she angrily retorts, "I am ''not'' being possessive, and I am ''not'' taking it out on Cadance!" Nopony had mentioned the second part.
173* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaTBMSLF4LA clip]] uploaded by Hasbro's ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'' Website/YouTube channel says in its description "The Ponies make a cake for the Canterlot wedding, but the imposter Princess Cadance doesn't seem appreciative."
174%%* TraitorShot:
175* TrampledUnderfoot: When Cadance returns to the hall near the end, she steps on and shatters the Twilight figurine from the "graphics" for the DarkReprise of "[=BBBFF=]" as she approaches Twilight -- which Twilight seemed to be creating with her magic.
176* UnusuallyUninterestingSight:
177** Pinkie Pie sneezes confetti. The others seem to just shrug it off and nopony comments on it. Bonus points for coming right after Rarity's line: "Royal Weddings attract the strangest of ponies..."
178** The defensive shield around Canterlot is clearly visible from Ponyville, and no-one seems worried about it. They only comment on it when they arrive, assuming it must be to do with the wedding.
179* VillainBall:
180** Twilight makes it clear when she first meets Chrysalis-as-Cadance that she knows Cadance enough to see through their alibi of wedding stress, and Chrysalis is aware that Twilight has been put in charge of overseeing wedding preparations thus will be around her often and paying attention to keen details. Yet, she makes no effort to rein in her behavior, act nice or placate Twilight like she did with her friends by making them bridesmaids, or explain why she didn't remember her at their introduction.
181** After being ditched by her friends and kicked out of her brother's wedding, Twilight is left despondent and regretful at having possibly irreparably damaged all of her relationships. When Chrysalis returns to the throne room, Twilight grovels at her hooves and apologizes. This would be the perfect time for Chrysalis to make up some excuse for her poor behavior and forgive Twilight, earning her trust so Chrysalis could manipulate her to some end, like simply getting her to agree to not attend the wedding. ''Instead'', she insults Twilight, entraps her in green flames and teleports her into the caverns beneath Canterlot, instantly confirming all of Twilight's fears and giving her more motivation than ever to stop her.
182* WeddingEpisode: Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and..." ({{gasp}}) ''...[[RememberTheNewGuy my brother]]?!''
183* WhamLine:
184** Twilight revealing that she has a brother; she never spoke of him before. The same goes for Princess Cadance.
185** The final lines of the episode:
186--->'''Twilight:''' [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone I'm sorry...]]\
187'''Cadance:''' You '''will''' be.
188* WhatTheHellHero:
189** Twilight gives a minor one to Shining Armor when he didn't tell her ''in person" that he was getting married.
190--->'''Twilight:''' How dare you not tell me in person that you were getting married? I'm your sister for pony sake.
191** Twilight gets a heavy one at the end of the episode by Shining Armor after she accuses Cadance of being evil, sending her out of the room crying, on bases he can easily counter. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Twilight reacts badly to this]], but it turns out she was right to accuse her.
192* WorstWhateverEver: Twilight states that "Cadance is the absolutely worst bride-to-be... ever."
193* WoundedGazelleGambit: Cadance breaks down in tears to alienate everypony else from Twilight.
194* WrongGenreSavvy: Twilight easily picks up on the cues that Cadance is up to no good -- [[EasilyCondemned but immediately jumps to the conclusion that she must've turned evil]]. The notion that her former favorite foal-sitter who suddenly acts as though they never met before might be an imposter never occurs to her until she finds the real Cadance in the next episode.
195* YouHaveToBelieveMe: Twilight doesn't appear to do a good job of explaining why Cadance is evil to the rest of the wedding party (except for the spell she cast on Shining Armor, which was explained away) only because Cadance started crying, making Twilight look possessive and unstable in the eyes of her peers and alienate her from the group.

Top