Fillies, gentlecolts, and foals of all ages, welcome once again to another edition of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic recap/review. Well, here it is. We’ve finally reached the end of season 2. And we end it with a two part episode. Not only that, but a two part episode that recieved massive hype, and a major push from Hasbro and the Hub. Ladies and gents, we have “A Wedding in Canterlot”.
For some clarification on how this wedding came down, the first info on this episode broke back in November, when at an event in Germany, a cardboard cutout featuring two new pony characters, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, was revealed amid speculation. At the time, many thought it was simply a lampooning of the recent royal wedding of William and Kate, but news would eventually break that this was going to not just be a major merchandising push from Hasbro, but it would also be the season finale. And that’s where we are now.
I will be breaking this review into two articles. A recap in both, and a review in the 2nd part, going through every little detail of this momentous season finale. So, with the introduction out of the way, let’s get to recapping part one.
We open part one as Twilight and her friends are enjoying a picnic. Spike shows up with some urgent news from Princess Celestia. He gives her a note saying that Twilight and her friends are to help the upcoming royal wedding, with each pony having a different job to do. Twilight is confused about being left in the dark for so long, but becomes shocked by the 2nd letter. The wedding is for Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and… HER BROTHER SHINING ARMOR!!
Twilight Sparkle remenisces about her B.B.B.F.F Shining Armor
While everypony is happy about the wedding, Twilight is upset due to the fact that she wasn’t informed about it, especially from her brother, who she considers her B.B.B.F.F (Her Big Brother Best Friend Forever). She sings the first song of the two parter about how she and Shining Armor used to do everything together, but have become more and more distant due to her leaving Canterlot, and him becoming head of the Canterlot royal guard. Her friends try to give her a cheering up, and the group head to Canterlot.
Upon heading to Canterlot, they notice that it has become encased in a magical forcefield, and security is at an all time hight. Twilight confronts Shining Armor to ask why he never told her about the wedding. Shining Armor tells her that it was the choice of Princess Celestia. A recent threat had been placed on Canterlot, and things had to be kept secret. He’s also the one in charge of the force field surrounding the place.
The happy couple?
Shining Armor makes it up to Twlight by making her his best mare at the wedding, which Twilight agrees to. She asks him who Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is, and he tells her that it’s Cadance, her foal sitter. This makes Twilight happy, as Cadance was somepony she absolutely adored. Cadance also appears to have the power of love, which can mend hate. Cadance shows up, and Twilight tries to greet her with a rhyme they used to do… Which Cadance doesn’t know about.
As the day goes on, Twilight begins to notice that Cadance hasn’t been acting like the lovable pony she once knew. She throws out the food Applejack made her, insults Rarity’s work on the wedding outfits, and also mocks the rest of the ponies. However, the only one who really notices this is Twilight. And as much as she tries to convince the other ponies that there may be something up with Cadance, they ignore her.
Not much to amore about Mi Amore Cadenza
Later, Twilight snoops in to what looks like Cadance using mind control on Shining Armor. She tries to warn the others, but they’re enamoured over the idea of being bridesmaids for the wedding. At the wedding rehearsal, everyone prepares for the big ceremony, but the only one who isn’t there is Twilight. She arrives, and begins to accuse Cadance of being evil, which makes her cry and run off. This doesn’t sit well with Shining Armor, who tells Twilight that it wasn’t mind control she was doing, it was helping his headaches that he was suffering from while trying to keep the force field up. Shining Armor tells Twilight that she may as well not come to the wedding at all and leaves, along with the rest of the ponies who are disappointed in Twilight.
Mi Amore Cadenza traps Twilight
The episode comes to an end with Twilight trying to apologize to Princess Cadance, who covers Twilight in a firey green force field, and transports her somewhere else, as it appears that Twilight’s suspicions may have been correct.
For the first part of this 2-parter, we have a solid set up, not to mention interesting new characters, and an epic cliffhanger. Thankfully, this wasn’t a two week afair like Return to Harmony, or the way this episode ended would have driven fans insane with wait. All in all, we’re really cooking with this episode.
Is Twilight Sparkle right in her suspicions? Has her old friend Cadance turned evil? And can she stop the wedding in time before her brother and her friends are the victims of an unholy matrimony? Read on to the Episode 26 recap/review to find out he exciting conclusion.