Chapter 98: A Canterlot Wedding Part 2
Spyro groaned a bit after waking up from his state of unconsciousness, opening his eyes to find nothing but darkness around him, so he lit his horns up and lit the room up, finding he was in a cavern covered in crystals of varying size, on the wall, and on the ceiling. Before he could walk anywhere, he heard Twilight groan as well, waking up and looking up to see Spyro looking down at her with concern as he helped her up.
"Spyro..." She said, rubbing her head. "What happened?"
"It appears we're trapped in a crystal cavern." Spyro replied, looking around. "Courtesy of one Mi Amore Cadenza."
"I knew it!" Twilight shouted. "She is evil! We need to get out of here and stop her! But, where exactly are we?"
"The caves beneath Canterlot." Cadence replied, an image of her on the crystals. "It was once home to all the greedy unicorns who laid claim to the gems that could be found in here. And now... your prison."
"You think a bunch of crystals are going to stop me?" Spyro asked, jumping up to smash through them, but just bounced off, getting a headache as twilight started to panic.
"Help!" Twilight shouted. "Somepony help!"
"It's no use, nopony can hear you." Cadence replied, her image appearing in the crystals around them. "And the crystals there are extremely tough, no one can break them without special tools. And, with how you treated me, no one will think to look for you either. Plus, most ponies have forgotten these caves even exist, which makes it the ideal place to keep the ones who try to interfere with my plans."
"Plans?" Twilight asked, Spyro getting up. "What plans?"
"The plans I have for your brother of course." Cadence replied. "Though I had plans for your colt friend there, my friends told me he's too strong and smart to try and do anything to."
"You monster!" Twilight shouted, a dangerous bolt of magic being charged up in her horn. "Don;t you dare do anything to him!"
"If want to stop me, come and get me." Cadence replied.
Twilight shot a bolt of magic at the gem, but instead of destroying the crystal, it bounced off the gem and off others, bouncing around and forcing Spyro to dodge as it hit the ground. This infuriated Spyro as well and summoned his Keyblade, calling the power of the Aether and sending purple fireballs at the crystals the princesses face was in, destroying the crystals, but that only made the princess laugh as her image bounced around from crystal to crystal, angering Spyro even more as his eyes turned to Sith eyes and was about to unleash another ball of fire on a wall of crystals that the princesses face was on, but felt something in the Force from behind the wall. Before he could do anything, Twilight released a powerful bolt of magic to the wall and destroyed it, revealing the princess was right behind it, Spyro growling when he saw her, but the felt that something was different, stopping himself when he noticed her condition, which she was dirty and looked frail, her mane and tail was a mess and she seemed surprised to see them, but what stopped him most of all was that she was completely different than she was before, sensing nothing but light in her rather than darkness, his eyes returning to normal as he knew this was the real Mi Amore Cadenza.
"There you are!" Twilight shouted, calling her Keyblade and charging at her,
"No, wait!" Pad eve said, raising her hoof in defense.
Twilight leapt at her and raised her Keyblade to deal a killing blow, but Spyro appeared in front of her and called his Keyblade, blocking the attack and shocking Twilight.
"Twilight, stand down!" Spyro exclaimed, the mare falling to the ground. "This is the real Mi Amore Cadenza."
"Are you crazy!?" She asked, taking another swipe, but Spyro blocked it. "She imprisoned us!"
"Twilight, it really is me." Cadence said, getting up. "Please, you have to believe me. I've been imprisoned like you two. That wasn't the real me, that was an imposter."
"Not for a minute!" Twilight replied, trying to attack her again, but Spyro blocked the attack.
"I swear, it is me." Cadence said, walking to Twilight and breaking the Keyblades apart. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake." Cadence said, doing the same motions that twilight didn't when she first greeted her. "Clap your hooves and do a little shake."
"That's..." Twilight said, dismissing her Keyblade and looking up to cadence, smiling as she hugged her. "You remember me!"
"Of course I do." Cadence replied. "How could I forget the filly I love to foal sit the most." She then looked over to Spyro, who protected her from Twilight's attacks and looked confused when she saw him. "And... who's your friend?"
"That's Spyro." Twilight replied, breaking up the hug. "He's a prince and my colt friend and herd leader. But who was that who's impersonating you?"
"She's a changeling." Cadence replied. "She's known as Queen Chrysalis and she's not a pony and she's planning on destroying Canterlot."
"Changeling?" Spyro asked.
"They're heartless monsters and fiends." Cadence replied. "They feed off of other ponies love while taking the form of those that pony love, draining their love and magic."
"Like a succubus." Spyro said. they then heard the changelings laughter coming from the cavern, looking in the direction of the laughter and saw a sparkle of light. "We need to stop her before it's too late. If she marries Shining Armor and drains him of his love, his magic will fail and Canterlot will fall!"
"Then let's hurry, we don't have much time!" Twilight said.
The group then ran in the direction of the light to get out of the cavern to stop the wedding before anything happened and as they ran, they heard music playing, indicating a song was about to start. Back in the caste, the Chrysalis was approaching a mirror as the song was going, May and Larxene nearby and watching as she approached the mirror, picking a rose out of the flower vase and putting it behind her ear.
[Chrysalis]
This day is going to be perfect,
The kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small.
Everypony will gather 'round,
Say I look lovely in my gown,
What they don't know is that I have fooled them all!
Down in the caverns, Spyro, Twilight, and Cadence were running down different corridors as they tried to find a way out, Cadence singing the aria as they heard Chrysalis's voice form out of no where.
[Cadence]
This day was going to be perfect,
The kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small!
But instead of having cake,
With all my friends to celebrate,
My wedding bells, they may not ring for me at all!
[Chrysalis]
I could care less about the dress,
I won't partake in any cake!
Vows? Well, I'll be lying when I say,
"That through any kind of weather
I'll want us to be together!"
The truth is I don't care for him at all!
No, I do not love the groom,
In my heart there is no room,
But I still want him to be all mine!
[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 the one who wants to use him
Not care for love and cherish him each day!"
They then came across an old mining cart they could use to ride to the rescue to go over a chasm, cadence running over to move it, but the rocks prevented it from moving and in her weakened state, she didn't have the strength to move them
For I oh-so love the groom
All my thoughts he does consume
Oh, Shining Armour
I'll be there very soon!
Twilight smiled at her old foal sitter, now knowing she truly loved her brother and he truly loved her. The two mares hopped inside of the cart and Spyro smashed the rocks that were underneath the cart, preventing it from moving and leapt in as it was moving, allowing gravity to move it as it rolled down a spiral set of tracks, holding on for dear life as it took them further and further into the caves. However, the tracks suddenly ended too soon as a barricade indicated that it was the end of the track, the Princess using what strength she had left in her to hold onto the cart as did twilight, but Spyro held onto the cart while also holding onto them to make sure they didn't fall out as the cart leapt over the massive chasm. However, when the cart hit the barricade and sent the three of them flying, Cadence using the lat of her strength to glide them over to the chasm while Spyro spread his wings to do the same, holding onto the both of them until they reached the other side, running further into the cavern as they saw they were getting closer to the end.
In the wedding hall, the trumpets were blowing as the door to the wedding hall opened, revealing the false bride in her gown walking down the aisle, everypony looking to her as she walked down the aisle. Some of the ponies who were attending were relatives to the bride and groom, both seemingly proud and happy for the couple while others in the hall were nobles who were lucky enough to receive an invite. At the alter, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rosy were on the brides side of the alter, each wearing a unique dress that Rarity managed to make before the wedding, some of their family there as well as invited guests. Along the aisle, the crusaders were the flower girls as they walked down the aisle and spread flower petals along the way to the alter, 'Cadence' smiling as she looked at everyone and then to the groom, whose were were now completely green as he turned to her.
[Chrysalis]
Finally the moment has arrived,
For me to be one lucky bride!
[Cadence]
Oh, the wedding we won't make
He'll end up marrying a fake
Shining Armour will be...
[Chrysalis]
Mine!
All mine.
The group managed to get to the exit and were about to leave, but from the shadows, the original bridesmaids walked out and all had green eyes, showing they were under the changelings control.
"Where do you think you're going?" One of them asked.
"Oh no, we aren't going to make it!" Cadence exclaimed.
"Oh, we're going to make it alright." Spyro said, sliding the bracer's slide up and pressing a button, raising it. "I always plan three steps ahead. Destroyer Sniper units one through four, activate and engage hostile force. Code name: False Bride!"
Back in the wedding hall, Princess Celestia was acting as the pastor for her niece 'Cadence' and her captain of the royal guard, Shining Armor, wearing a red captains uniform with a blue sash going over his left shoulder, but what no one saw was the evil smirk on the 'princesses' face as her plan was in motion while also failing to notice that the grooms eyes were green and was starring blankly at the princess, not even the princess of the day noticed. On the brides side of the remaining members of the Mane six had noticed that Twilight and Spyro weren't there, growing worried.
"Hey, has anypony seen Twilight?" Rarity asked. "Or Spyro for that matter? I haven't seen them since the rehearsal."
"Now that you mention it, no I haven't." Rainbow Dash replied.
"Maybe they're sick." Pinkie suggested.
"Ah doubt it." Applejack replied. "Spyro's pretty healthy, so it's difficult for him to get sick." She then noticed the resentful gaze on Rosy's face, glaring at Princess 'Cadence' as she seemed to hate her. "Rosy sweetie, what's wrong?"
"We need to stop her." Rosy replied, confusing Applejack.
At the entryway to the wedding hall, May and Larxene were behind the pillars, leaning against them and smiling as their plan was working.
"Seems the queens plan worked." Larxene said. "Now that the wedding is underway, nothing will stop us."
"Indeed." May said. "Nice the vows have been exchanged, the organization can claim Equestria and I will finally have the key to free my master. With this, our alliance will be solidified and nothing will stop us."
"Mares and gentlecolts." Celestia said, getting their attention. "We are gathered here today to witness the unions of-"
She was then interrupted when they all heard something crack above them, looking up to see one of the golden orbs Spyro had brought had cracked, but then three more cracked and all four of them exploded, everyone underneath running out of the way of the falling debris and many gasped or shrieked when they saw what came out of the orbs. From them, four Droideka Sniper units had activated and was scanning the room, looking around for their target until they set their scanners on the princess, locking onto their target.
"Target identified!" The first unit said. "Target: False Bride!"
The shield on them then covered their front as the cannon stuck out of the shield, firing upon the princess, but a golden barrier was created, Princess Celestia using her magic to block the bolts while everyone in the room sought cover of their own.
"What's going on!?" Larxene asked. "What are those things!?"
"Droideka's!" May replied. "Sniper version! We need to destroy them before they ruin everything!"
May and Larxene came out of hiding from behind the pillars, much to the Keyblade bearers surprise as they leapt to the banister to destroy them.
"It's May!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "She's attacking!"
Before anyone could do anything, Rosy ran out from underneath the barrier and towards the first pillar she could feel, one of the Droideka's pointing it's cannon at her and scarring Applejack, but the Droideka then returned it's cannon to the barrier and kept firing, confusing the farm mare on why they didn't attack her. On the balcony, May was running towards the first two sniper droids, her Keyblade out to destroy them, but a flame shot up from beside the balcony and from it, Rosy hearts appeared and got her blade out, blocking Mays attack and causing her to stagger backwards. On the other side, Larxene got her daggers out and threw them at the Droideka's to destroy them, but a blue force field appeared around the first destroyer Droideka, blocking the attack and from the roof, Luna came down wearing her armor and was holding her sword.
"Sister, what's the meaning of this!?" Celestia shouted. "Why are you protecting those things!?"
"Sister, you have been deceived!" Luna shouted, blocking Larxene's daggers. "That is not Mi Amore Cadenza!"
"What nonsense is this!?" Celestia asked.
A moment later, the doors to the wedding hall opened up and from it, Spyro and twilight rushed in to see the droids firing their cannons at the barrier, the girls looking happy to see them.
"Spyro!" They shouted at the same time.
"Spyro, Twilight, I'm glad you're here!" Celestia exclaimed, straining to keep the barrier up. "Destroy those machines."
Spyro raised his bracer up and pressed a button, the Droideka's ending their assault and retracting the cannons, but keeping the shields up, surprising everyone in the room as they came out from whatever they were hiding in or behind as the barrier fell.
"Sorry to have to resort to extreme measures your highness, but we needed to buy ourselves some time." Spyro said.
"We need to stop the wedding, now!" Twilight said.
"Ugh, this again?" 'Cadence' said, pretending to cry. "Why do you hate me so much to ruin my special day?"
All of a sudden, a ball of fire was hurtling towards the 'princess,' snapping her out of her play acting and forcing her to duck for cover as it hit the pillar behind her.
"Cut the lies bug breath!" Spyro exclaimed, the snipers cannons returning to their target. "This is not your special day." He and twilight then stepped back and revealed the real princess, making everyone in the room gasp in horror as they saw her. "Mare and gentlecolts, guests of all ages, may I present to you, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! The REAL Mi Amore Cadenza!"
"What!?" Chrystal is asked, completely shocked. "How did you get out of the caverns!?"
"Next time you want to stop us, make sure your body guards aren't bridesmaids." Spyro responded.
Minutes ago
In the caverns, Spyro has slide the cover back over the screen of his bracers as the brainwashed bridesmaids were approaching them.
"That should buy us some time." Spyro said. "Provided Rosy and Luna got my message."
"Now what?" Twilight asked, calling her Keyblade.
"Wait, I have an idea!" Cadence said.
She pulled out a bouquet of flowers from out of nowhere and waving it around, making it fly in the air as the maids starred at it, following it as their instincts to get the bouquet overcame the mind control as the princess tossed it away, the bridesmaids running after it to catch it, surprising Spyro how easy it was to get out of that situation.
"Heh, mares." Spyro said.
"Hey!" Twilight and Cadence complained at the same time.
"What?" Spyro asked.
"Ugh stupid mares!" Chrysalis said, face smacking herself.
"W-what's going on?" Applejack asked. "Why in tarnation is there two of them?"
"Because she's a changeling!" Cadence replied, stepping forward. "She changes into the form of somepony you love and feeds off your love for them, gaining power from it!"
Having been exposed for who she truly was, green flames surrounding her in a circle as the circle of flames shot up into the air, surprising the princess and the five mares next to her as they backed away from the scorching flames, burning away her disguise and revealing her black and sleek carapace shell, growling at them before smiling and laughing.
"You're a clever one, but not clever enough." Chrysalis said. "And as queen, it is my duty to make sure my subjects have an ample supply of love to feed my subjects. And Equestria has all the love my subjects need to survive. More than enough for all my changelings than I have ever encountered in my life!"
"They're never going to get in!" Cadence said, opposing the queen. "Shining Armors protection spell will keep them out! They'll never get through!"
"Oh, won't they?" Chrysalis asked, brushing Shining Armors mane. "You see, I've been feeding off of his love for quite some time now and with every second I feed off of him, he has grown weaker and so has his magic. Isn't that right dear?" Shining Armor nodded his head, now fully under the changelings control Spyro growled and called his Keyblade, getting ready to pounce, but Chrysalis just smiled as dark corridors opened up again, Larxene and May appearing out of them as Rosy and Luna came down from the balcony, the Nobody putting her dagger to the captains throat. "Ah, ah, ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Unless you want the bride to be to become a widow."
As she did that, the Droideka's extended their cannons and lasers were trained on them as the cannons charged up.
"No, don't hurt him!" Cadence pleaded, looking to Spyro, who sneered as he knew he couldn't risk his life.
"Stand down!" Spyro exclaimed, the Droideka's retracting their cannons.
"Smart choice there, 'old friend.'" May said, turning to look behind as there were hundreds of changelings now bashing themselves against the barrier.
"Without your dear Shining Armor to perform his duties, the barrier will fall!" Chrysalis said. "First, we take Canterlot, then all of Equestria!"
As she said it, the barrier shattered and everyone screamed as they feared the Changelings were going to have a feast, but then then ran into something, some of the bugs sliding down something until a golden glow appeared around the city, shocking everyone to see there was a second shield.
"WHAT!?" May asked. "Another shield!? How!?"
"May, May, May, when are you going to learn." Spyro said, walking forward. "I'm always three steps ahead. Step one: Set up some Destroyer Droids up on the balcony and take pot shots at the enemy if they got into the wedding hall. Step two: Conjure a second barrier incase the first one is compromised, prevent anyone with dark intentions from coming through."
"You little rat!" Chrysalis shouted, storming to him. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy destroying you!"
"No, you won't." Princess Celestia said, walking up to them. "You may have made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his duties, but thanks to Spyro's shields, the city is safe. And since you have so foolishly revealed yourself, I will protect my subjects from you!" She and Chrysalis locked horns and flew into the air, having a magic duel as they fired spell after spell until they crossed their magic, beams of gold and green pushing on one another like it was Harry Potter fighting Voldemort. :You tricked me and my subjects, made me doubt my star pupil, made me think she was making lies about you, and you have the gall to kidnap my niece and try to attack my little ponies!?"
The magic duel went on as the beams of magic pushed against one another continuously until Princess Celestia's magic started to overtake Chrysalis, surprising her and making everyone else extremely happy, but she was suddenly winning the fight, her magic pushing against the princess and knocking her down, her horn singed as she skidded across the floor as her crown hit the floor.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight shouted.
"All this power..." Chrysalis said. "Shining Armor's love must have been more powerful than I thought! It has made me more powerful than Celestia!"
"Princess..." Twilight said.
"G-go get the Elements of... Harmony." The princess said. "T-they're our... only hope."
The princess passed out as the ponies on the hall panicked, running for the door as Spyro got in front of Twilight as the queen, the Nobody, and the Corrupted Keyblade bearer approached.
"You really think you can win this time?" May asked. "Like you, I took precautions and made a few new friends." As she said that, dozens of Grublins and nobodies appeared from the ground and from the void, all snarling and snapping their fangs at them while more of them approached the barrier, carrying black crystals made into a battering ram as they hit the barrier, the magic from it draining into the crystal at the barrier started to flash. "Though the new shield was a surprise, I had a fall back plan incase the barrier didn't go down after the Changelings tried destroy it. Not even you have the time nor the energy to make a new one."
"You're right, I don't." Spyro said, though he smiled. "But, do you remember step one? How I set up Destroyer Snipers up top?"
"Of course I do." May replied. "Why-?" She then froze, realizing what he meant as she looked to the other golden orbs, not realizing what he meant. "Oh no."
"What's wrong?" Larxene asked.
Spyro slide the cover of his bracer back and pressed a single button, raising it up to his muzzle as May and Larxene returned their attention to him.
"All units online!" Spyro announced. "Targets: Changelings, Nobodies, Grublins, Dark Keyblade bearer! Code word: Reunion!"
As he said it, the barrier was destroyed, but at the same time, the golden orbs shattered and from them, dozens of Droideka Destroyer Droids came online unfolding and activating their shields before unleashing a hail of blaster fire into the Nobodies and the Grublins, the sniper droids joining in on the fire as they knocked down the first few dozen as more came out from no where to attack the droids, giving Spyro and his friends a chance to run out the door while Lune remained behind.
"Luna, come on!" Spyro shouted.
"I am not leaving my sister and niece behind!" Luna exclaimed, slicing a Grublin in two. "Get to the Elements of Harmony and vanquish these fiends!"
Not wanting to argue, the girls threw the dresses into the air as they followed Spyro out, which they had to drag Rarity out of the room as they ran outside, finding the streets are full of Nobodies and Grublins, which the guards were fighting against until the Changelings came out of no where and aided them, overwhelming the royal soldiers as they ran across the city. The changelings fell from the sky and landed like cannonballs and one landed in front of them, hissing at them, but Spyro just sucker punched it into the air and smacked it with his tail, sending it flying through the air and through a light pole, leaving an imprint of it in the pole. They then rushed up the stairs and to the door to the building where the Elements of Harmony were kept, but a whole army of Changelings, Nobodies, and Grublins standing in their way, some hissing, others licking their lips at the meal they saw in front of them.
"Looks like we're doing this the hard way!" Rainbow Dash said, smacking her hooves together. She then ran towards the changelings, but then ran into her self, looking at her like a mirror, the copy copying what Rainbow Dash did until it knocked her down, surprising her. "W-what the hay!?"
"They're changelings, remember?" Spyro said, watching as they took their forms. "They may look like us, but they won't be able to copy our weapons."
Smiling, Rainbow Dash got up and conjured her Keyblade, appearing in her muzzle and surprising the changelings as they looked at the magical weapon, those disguised as Rainbow Dash sweating as they had no way of copying the weapons. The girls followed her example and all conjured their weapons and held then in their muzzles and their magic, Spyro conjuring two Keyblades, his own and Mays, swinging them around a few times and making all the changelings sweat.
"If there are any of you who'd like to liver and see another day... run." Spyro said. Some of the enemy refused to even budge, holding their ground, but some of the Changelings among their ranks took off flying away, a few of them fleeing as fast as they could to preserve their lives. "Now see, those are the smart ones."
"CHARGE!" Pinkie shouted.
The whole ground charged towards the entire army of changelings, Nobodies, and Grublins, the eight Keyblade Bearers attacking all of them at once as they got into the fight. Twilight used her magic mostly and blasted many of the Changelings down while also remembering everything Spyro taught her with her Keyblade, twisting and slashing at them as they dispatched Nobodies and Grublins with ease, using some of the basic magic Spyro taught them to knock the changelings around and to freeze them. Applejack was doing well with her bone-shattering kicks against their armor, causing cracks in their armor followed by her Keyblade, striking at the Nobodies and Grublins, going through them with her powerful swings while using her newly found agility, slashing through them without being harmed. Rainbow Dash used her speed to her advantage as she rushed through the enemy and dispatching multiples of Nobodies and Grublins while also ramming through the changelings before flying into the air.
Rarity was holding her own as she fought them with elegance and skill as she went through the Changelings, who were mostly male and were enrapture by her beauty, using it to her advantage, though she found the changelings ogling her and admiring her while still disguised as her friends to be a bit uncomfortable as she went through them before going for the Dusks and the flies. Fluttershy however was having difficulty as she wasn't a fighter but mostly a lover, but she got her nerve when she saw her friends being hurt and attacked the enemy without any hesitation, charging through the Changelings and heading towards some Nobodies as she cut right through them, sliding behind them and striking them down like how Spyro taught them in order to confuse and stun them. Rosy and pinkie were working together as the party pony used her party cannon and blasted some of the Changelings and striking any enemy as she popped up randomly while Rosy followed close behind to cast some spells to entangle and hold them in place to allow for their friends to take care of them.
Spyro however wasn't having much issue with handling himself as he used both Keyblades to fight against the Changelings and all the enemy creatures that came up to try their luck against him, striking and slashing through them as they came around, but he had no problem with dozens t hundreds of enemies as he's handled this before. He also used the power of the Force to lift them into the air and throw them far away from the fight, some hitting buildings pretty hard while others just hit the ground and disappeared into clouds of dust or energy.
They kept the fight going for a good while as they fought, some grouping together to defend and strike back while others focused on solo fights as they were use to it until they had knocked down and knocked out all the Changelings and dispatched the Nobodies and Grublins, nothing left of them but dirt and dust, everyone breathing heavily as they finished the fight, the dust settling to reveal that more Changelings were heading their way and they were followed by thousands of Grublins and Nobodies. Not wanting to to go through a whole other fight scene, the group ran into the building that houses the elements and threw the door open, running in, but then saw that the whole room was full of Changelings, Grublins, and Nobodies, all in their way to the Elements of Harmony, hearing someone clapping their hooves as if applauding them for getting so far until they moved out of the way to reveal it was May that was clapping, chuckling to herself as she stopped and walked towards them.
"Bravo!" She exclaimed. "Bravo. You taught them pretty well, your highness."
"Well enough to hold their own." Spyro said, pointing his blade at her. "Step aside May, I don't want to destroy you."
"Oh, you won't." May replied, calling her blade. "You see, I know you used up a lot of your energy to get all the way here, and I used a lot of mine to destroy those old Droideka's, which, by the way, I have to applaud you for because I haven't been that surprised and scared in a long time."
"Get to the point." Spyro said, keeping his blade up.
"If you insist." She said, disappointed. "Here's a proposal for you. A duel. One on one, you and me, winner takes all. I win, your friends dismiss their blades and come along quietly, not put up a fight as we take over Canterlot. And if you win, you can go and get the Elements of Harmony and blast us all to kingdom Kong until your hearts content. Deal?"
Spyro knew this was a trick and a very big risk agreeing to this, but he looked back to the girls and saw how tired they were, knowing this was his only chance to save Equestria from a horde of Changelings out to drain everyone of their love, so he needed to do what he could.
"Fine." Spyro said, shocking them. "I win, we walk through the army and get the elements, you win, the girls and Rosy will not retaliate."
"Spyro, what are you doing!?" Twilight asked.
"Trust me." Spyro said.
He walked to the center of the room where the enemy army moved out of the way, standing on the side lines as Spyro's friends watched on as he got his blades out, May stretching as she approached.
"Two blades?" May asked. "You usually go for one."
"Times change." Spyro replied. "Tends to happen after spending time fused."
Spyro lowered himself as did May, the two waiting for one or the other to make the first move before the two seemingly vanished, surprising the crowd with how fast they were until they appeared in the middle of the room, Spyro's Keyblades locked with hers as they glared at one another until they broke the lock, both slashing and fighting one another as their blades connected and bounced off one another, both equally matched in the form of combat as they both hacked and slashed. Spyro mostly used his original blade as defense, thus holding it on his left side while using May's old blade for offense, combining form four, Ataru, and form seven, Vaapad. Using these forms while combining Jar'kai, Spyro quickly got the upper hand and was overwhelming her, making the Changelings worry as they witnessed one of their strongest allies was loosing. However, she wasn't;t going to let that happen and leapt back, closing her eyes as she felt the power of darkness in her body flare up as a dark blue flame surrounded her and exploded, forcing Spyro to cover himself with his wings and look to see she was now surrounded by a dark blue aura and a familiar feeling.
"The Aether." Spyro said.
"Dark Aether." May replied. "Courtesy of my master."
She then vanished from in front of him and struck him in the side, doing that several times as her speed and strength have triples after activating the power of Dark Aether, Forcing Spyro to rethink his strategy, so he closed his eyes and called upon the Aether to aid him, feeling the familiar burning sensation before yelling out, releasing a wave of power as well and disappearing, both of them matching speed as they struck and slashed at one another and both moving so fast that it was physically impossible to most if not all of them. With Spyro and may, with the power of the Aether and Dark Aether going through them, they were able to fight and strike with speed and strength that no one could imagine, casting spells so powerful it shook the ground, throwing everyone off until there locked blades again, May glaring at Spyro as Spyro glared at her.
"You truly have grown stronger highness." May said. "But not strong enough."
"You keep saying that May." Spyro said, releasing the lock. "But I know you're still in there."
"The May you knew is gone!" She shouted. "I'm all that remains!"
"I don't believe that!" Spyro replied, swiping at her eyes and making her stagger, falling to the ground as she groaned, but she got back up and tried to attack again, but Spyro just moved quick enough to avoid the hit before striking her several dozen times, May finally fell to the ground as there were dozens of injuries, causing her to fall to the ground with her coat now a lighter shade of blue as the darkness tried to cover her again. "I know deep down you're still in there May, reaching out, calling for help. May, fight back against the darkness! Fight it! Fight!"
As he said that, her eyes started to flicker again, this time she was struggling to get back up as her light was starting to overtake her darkness, seemingly freeing her, but the Dark Aether then made it's move, increasing the dark power deep inside of her as she screamed out in rage, releasing a large amount of dark blue flames that knocked Spyro out of the air and onto the ground, using his own Aether powers to shield himself from her out of control darkness as it threatened to burn everything down, but through the flames, Spyro could see in her heart a large amount of light that was breaching the surface, giving him hope she could be saved. So he un shielded himself and covered his entire body in the Aether, creating a protective barrier that allowed him to move straight towards may, though the dark energy made it near impossible to get close, but he pushed through the flames as it slowly stripped away his armor.
When he reached her, he conjured her Keyblade and thrusted it towards her chest, the flames fighting to keep the blade away from her chest as it used the flames to create a barrier, preventing the blade from reaching the Keyhole that was made to her chest, Spyro pushing as hard as he could with her blade as the flames surrounded it, causing it to crack under pressure, but he pushed as hard as he could, getting through the flames and nearly reaching the Keyhole. But as the blade was about to go into her chest, the key suddenly shattered, exploding into hundreds of pieces and sending Spyro flying backwards, time seemingly slowing down for him as the aura around his body faded as the flames seared his body, not focused on the pain but watching as the shaft of the blade and the teeth explode slowly in front of him as he flew backwards, his body damaged as he skidded across the floor, crumbled on the ground as burn marks littered his body as his friends looked at him, complete horror on their faces as May stood there, breathing heavily as she stood, her own body littered in dark spots as she looked at them.
"I... won." May said. "Take them to the Queen... make sure... the prince... doesn't... get back... up."
The Changelings walked over and picked the prince up and dragging him out of the room while the rest surrounded the ponies, wanting to fight back, but the ones carrying Spyro had a dagger out and against his throat, forcing them to follow them without any kind of fight as they made their way back to the wedding hall. At the Wedding Hall, the two princess sisters were trapped in cocoons and here hanging upside down while Cadence was stuck in place by the same substance, preventing her from moving.
"You won't get away with this!" Cadence said. "The prince will defeat your army and your friends will not be able to help you."
A second later, they heard the doors open and the Queen turned her head, smiling as she saw the mane six, the blind unicorn, and the crumpled mess known as the prince.
"I highly doubt that." Queen Chrysalis said, watching as they brought him to her. "Your prince doesn't seem to be in any condition to fight."
"No." Cadence said, the two regal sisters just as shocked to see him unconscious. "It can't be..."
"Spyro..." Twilight said, seeing him just lying on the ground as a May walked up, the darkness covering her body again, though her eyes were stuck as a greenish yellow.
"It seems you are victorious." Chrysalis said. "Though it seems he got a few good hits in on you."
"He was very powerful, even if he used a lot of power against our armies." May replied, limping to her ally. "He won't be getting up anytime soon."
"I don;t want him up again." Chrysalis said, walking to him. "His power is... impressive. My drones told me what he did and how powerful he is. I think..."
"Don't you dare!" Rosy shouted, trying to attack her, but three drones held her down.
"You're right, I won't." Chrysalis said, backing away from him. "He's on deaths door anyway, he won't last much longer."
"The let me finish him." Larxene said, pulling out one of her daggers. "He and I have some unfinished business after he stole my Beskar."
"No, the honor belongs to May." Chrysalis replied, making Larxene hiss at her. "She defeated him, she gets the honor of dealing the final blow."
May smiled as she walked over to the unconscious prince, smirking as she summoned her Keyblade, using her magic to pick Spyro up by his hair, which he woke up, feeling numb and looking defeated as his only chance to save his friend failed, her blade shattered and his hope of bringing her back to the light.
"Before you loose your heart, I want to ask you one thing?" May asked, hate in her eyes. "How long did you look for me? How long did you excavate the rocks until you reached the bottom?"
"T-three weeks." Spyro replied. "I looked... and dug... for three... weeks."
"Well, it seems your effort was in vain." May said, placing the blade to his chest. "Any final words... before I remove your heart?"
He just smiled as he looked his former friend in the eyes, looking over to his friends with the same smile as he could feel the dark blade press against his chest.
"It's ok girls." Spyro said, seeing the fear and anxiety in their eyes. "Victory... is within reach. Just need to have the faith... in yourselves... and in others... like a Mandalorian." Having said his peace, he looked back up to May, still smiling as he could see the green of her eyes coming through as he knew she was fighting, fighting to regain control. "And May... you are my best friend. From when we met... we were an unstoppable team. I... wish it... could have been... more."
May was stunned by his words, not knowing what to say as he could feel herself loose control, a single tear rolling down her face as she tried to do what she wanted to do, but could feel she didn't want to do it. Regardless, she summed up the strength and threw him in the air, time slowing down for Spyro again as a bolt of dark magic charged up at the tip of her Keyblade, firing from the tip as it hit his chest, shredding his jacket as he flew backwards, hitting the nearby pillar and crumpling to the ground, everyone horrified to have witnessed their friend getting hit and dying right in front of them.
"SPYRO!" Twilight shouted.