History Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E26ACanterlotWeddingPart2

** [[EnsembleDarkhorse Vinyl Scratch]], Fancy Pants, Soarin', and Twilight and Shining Armor's parents all make an appearance at the end.

* StealthPun: The combination VillainSong and TheVillainSucksSong is called "This Day Aria", with Wiki/TheOtherWiki describing an aria as a song for one voice. Technically it's one voice...

* NiceHat: The Mane Six's hats -- both in the episode(s) and in promotional material (see, for example, the billboard image). Spike wears a top hat that's bigger than his own head.

* CriticalResearchFailure: In-universe: Spike was supposed to host the bachelor party... but did not get that it was supposed to happen ''before'' the wedding.

* AdultFear: In the DarkReprise, a terrified Carrot Top is being cornered with Dr. Hooves by the changelings and trying to protect a foal.

* DarkReprise: The reprise of "This Day Aria" is even darker in tone than the original VillainSong.

* WhatAnIdiot: An InUniverse example, as {{Lampshade| Hanging}}d by Queen Chrysalis.
-->'''Queen Chrysalis:''' It's funny, really. Twilight here was suspicious of my behavior all along. Too bad the rest of you were too caught up in your wedding planning to realize the suspicions were correct!

The truth is revealed: Twilight was right to be suspicious about her old friend's behavior -- because it wasn't really her! The ''true'' Cadance proves her identity with their SecretHandshake and explains that the Cadance Twilight met is an impostor seeking to take over Canterlot. With all the misunderstandings cleared, they escape the caves and [[SpeakNowOrForeverHoldYourPeace arrive at the wedding just in time to expose the deception]].

Princess Celestia rises to challenge the evil impostor, but to everyone's surprise -- even Chrysalis's -- she is defeated.

Twilight and the others race to get the Elements of Harmony, but they run into Chrysalis's army. The Mane Six end up in a pitched battle against changelings magicked to look like them but they too are eventually overwhelmed and captured.

The truth is revealed: Twilight was ''right'' about Cadance being evil -- but the truth is it's ''not'' actually Cadance. The ''real'' Cadance proves her identity by greeting a suspicious Twilight with their SecretHandshake and explaining that the Cadance above is an impostor seeking to take over Canterlot. Twilight and the real Cadance fight the bewitched bridesmaids, then make their way back to the surface of Canterlot. Just before Princess Celestia can complete the ceremony, [[SpeakNowOrForeverHoldYourPeace Twilight and the real Cadance storm in to expose the deception]].

When the jig is up for the fake Cadance, [[OneWingedAngel she reveals herself as Chrysalis, the frightening queen of the changelings]], a race of parasitic beings with the ability to copy the shape of a loved one and then eat the love feelings directed to the fake. Chrysalis has decided to take over Canterlot because as the capital of Equestria, the country with the most ''love'' in the world, it can feed her subjects -- the other changelings. She smugly announces that since she took Cadance's place, she turned Shining Armor into her puppet and has weakened him so much that soon he will be unable to keep Canterlot safe inside of his protective force field.

Celestia rises to challenge the evil impostor, but after a short (yet intense) struggle, she is beaten by Chrysalis. Among everypony in the room, Queen Chrysalis herself is the most surprised: Having fed on so much of Shining Armor's love for Cadance, she has become even stronger than Celestia!

Celestia urges Twilight and the others to get the Elements of Harmony, just when Chrysalis's army finally destroy Shining Armor's force field and attack Canterlot. The Mane Six end up in a pitched battle against changelings magicked to look like them but in the end, they are overwhelmingly outnumbered and captured before they can get to the Elements.

Chrysalis's victory is absolute: Canterlot is invaded by her army, Celestia is imprisoned inside of a cocoon, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony have been neutralized and Shining Armor's power has been completely drained, leaving him incapable to recast his energy barrier. When the evil queen stops to gloat (while not incorrect), Twilight frees Cadance so she can go to the side of her love. She not only breaks the changeling's hold on him, but together, their love is strong enough to give Shining Armor the strength to once again perform his protection spell and banish the changelings, not only from Canterlot but from all of Equestria. The day is saved!

The real wedding can finally take place. Twilight's organizational skills pull the whole thing together with dazzling speed, with Cadance enthusiastically participating, and Twilight's position as Best Mare is reinstated and she is allowed back into the wedding. The ceremony is sweet and beautiful, especially for Twilight when Shining warmly tells her that he persuaded Cadance to accept his proposal with the fact that she would gain Twilight as a sister-in-law. As night falls, Princess Luna arrives, and the reception begins in earnest. Everypony dances, and as the couple departs, Shining thanks his sister for everything she has done with a warm reaffirmation of their love. As the carriage leaves, Rarity makes a spectacular dive for the bouquet, and Spike announces his intentions for the bachelor party.

* BugBuzz: The changelings have wings, but they're dragonfly wings that drone creepily when they fly.

** On the 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]]. In fact, all six of the Mane cast are wearing various hats photographed during the wedding.
** Shining Armor wears Prince William's uniform, right down to the markings of the Irish Guards regiment on his collar.

** Queen Chrysalis's transformation into her true form is very reminiscent of [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Maleficent]] complete with green flames erupting from the ground. Also, the final part of the transformation when she shows her face resembles a similar part in the transformation of Cure White from ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure''.
** The montage of the Mane Six beating up all the changelings is very reminiscent of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'', particularly the battle against the Chemical-X-infused monkeys from TheMovie. The very last shot of the sequence is a send-up of the "Burly Brawl" scene from ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'' (Neo sending a dogpile of Smith clones flying), complete with a ''Matrix''-style orchestral cue.

** A reference to ''Film/TheShining'' is made when Twilight and Cadance encounter a brainwashed Lyra Heartstrings, Twinkleshine, and Minuette talking in unison.
** The swirling aura that surrounds Cadance and Shining Armor as they invoke ThePowerOfLove may possibly be a reference to Decker and Ilia merging with V'Ger at the end of ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture''.
** In a crowd shot near the end of the episode, a pony version of Harry Potter can be seen in the upper right corner.
** Speaking of ''Franchise/HarryPotter'', the forcefield around Canterlot, the way it is maintained and (especially) the way it shatters are very reminiscent of the force field set up around Hogwarts in the film version of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''.
** The way the changelings scamper down the columns in the room where the Elements of Harmony are kept is the same as the way the orcs scamper down the columns and walls in the Mines of Moria in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing''.
** The premise bears resemblance to a ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode, "The Succubus", especially the scene where Chrysalis reveals her true form during wedding.
** It also resembles the ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' episode "Null Bot of the Bride". The main difference is that it is the ''groom'' who is replaced with a villain in that episode.
** Shining Armor and Princess Cadance's scenes before the defeat of Queen Chrysalis are nods to the final battle in ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam.'' To prove the point:
## Cadance trying to snap Shining Armor out of the spell = Domon trying to free Rain from the Devil/Dark Gundam.
## Shining and Cadance's attack to repel Chrysalis and the changelings = Domon and Rain's Sekiha Love Love Tenkyoken attack defeating Devil/Dark Gundam.

* VillainousFaceHold: When Queen Chrysalis is boasting of how Shining Armor is under her control and his shield won't last much longer, she holds him under the chin and turns his face to make him look at her. Later, when the Mane Six have been captured, she holds Twilight's chin in mock affection while bragging that Twilight was suspicious of her the whole time but nobody believed her, only for Twilight to slap it away.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Queen Chrysalis calls Twilight's friends out for ignoring her wringing about her being evil, ignoring how Chrysalis herself actively manipulated them into dismissing her. She [[AtLeastIAdmitIt proudly]] [[HypocrisyNod admits it]] when Twilight points this out.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Queen Chrysalis calls Twilight's friends out for ignoring her wringing about her being evil, ignoring how Chrysalis herself actively manipulated them into dismissing her. She proudly [[HypocrisyNod admits it]] when Twilight points this out.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Queen Chrysalis wasn't wrong when she brags to the cast that she managed to carry out her plan to take over Equestria even when Twilight Sparkle thinks something is wrong with Princess Cadance (who was actually Chrysalis herself in disguise) thanks to all of Twilight's friends not believing her and coldly walking out on her when she tried to explain herself. It was at that point when the others have a JerkassRealization and apologize to Twilight for not listening to her, even though Twilight shows no hard feelings.

* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Averted. After a presumably long period of imprisonment in a mine, Real! Cadance is scruffy and battered. Poor girl.

* BerserkButton: Celestia gets pissed when she finds Chrysalis framed Twilight as a bully.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Queen Chrysalis calls Twilight's friends out for ignoring her wringing about her being evil, ignoring how Chrysalis herself actively manipulated them into dismissing her. She [[HypocrisyNod admits it]] when Twilight points this out.

* WhatTheHellHero: Chrysalis gets bragging rights when she gives a smug villainous variation to Twilight's friends, by ignoring (and practically disowning) Twilight they allowed Chrysalis's EvilPlan to go forward without any problems. Applejack at the very least is [[JerkassRealization remorseful over this]], on behalf of herself and everypony else who feels the same way.

* BerserkButton: Celestia gets pissed when she finds chrysalis framed twilight as a bully.

* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: The villain downright states that had Twilight's friends been a ''bit'' more attentive to Twilight's feelings than focusing on a wedding, they ''would'' have managed to catch her before the wedding even began.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Queen Chrysalis wasn't wrong when she brags to the cast that she managed to carry out her plan to take over Equestria even when Twilight Sparkle thinks something is wrong with Princess Cadance (who was actually Chrysalis herself in disguise) thanks to all of Twilight's friends not believing her and coldly walking out on her when she tried to explain herself. It was at that point when the others have a JerkassRealization and apologize to Twilight.