A Canterlot Wedding

Lore & Background

In Part 1, Twilight Sparkle is surprised to learn her older brother, Captain of the Royal Guard Shining Armor, is to marry Princess Cadance. Princess Celestia asks Twilight and her friends to help organize the ceremony. Twilight becomes resentful upon learning of the marriage late and via letter. In Canterlot, she finds increased security and a magic shield cast by Shining Armor. She meets a cold, distant Cadance who does not remember their shared rhyme. During wedding preparations, Cadance criticizes the friends' planning, and Twilight's concerns are dismissed as stress. When Twilight confronts Shining Armor, Cadance casts a seemingly evil spell on him. At the rehearsal, Twilight denounces Cadance as evil; Cadance runs off crying. Shining Armor dismisses Twilight as best mare, and the real Cadance later comforts Twilight before transporting her beneath Canterlot.

In Part 2, Twilight finds herself in crystal caves beneath Canterlot, where images of the fake Cadance taunt her. She shatters a crystal wall and attacks a disheveled Cadance, who proves to be the real Cadance by reciting their shared rhyme. The real Cadance explains she was abducted by an impostor. Twilight and the real Cadance escape and expose the deception at the ceremony. The impostor reveals herself as Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the shape-shifting, insect-like Changelings who feed on love. Chrysalis has been weakening the shield to allow her army to invade. Celestia is overpowered; Twilight and her friends are captured. Twilight frees Cadance, who frees Shining Armor from Chrysalis's spell. Shining Armor recasts the shield, expelling Chrysalis and her army. The real wedding proceeds, with Twilight as best mare and wedding singer.

Reader's Guide

"A Canterlot Wedding" marks the final involvement of series developer Lauren Faust, who served as consulting producer during season two. The episodes are a direct reference to the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. Queen Chrysalis was designed by Rebecca Dart; Hasbro found the initial design not intimidating enough, so Dart gave her an upright stance. The character's decaying aspects contrast with the vigor of Celestia and Cadance. The episodes have been subject to feminist analysis: Kevin Fletcher argued they both exemplify and resist "princess culture" and undermine the typical fairy-tale wedding by focusing on Twilight and her friends. A study by Christian Valiente and Xeno Rasmusson found the episodes challenge gender stereotypes, with females driving action and dialogue while males are either incompetent or under female control. The episodes premiered to nearly one million combined viewers and received positive reviews for their ambition, music, and visual sequences.

Did You Know?

• The episodes are a direct reference to the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.
• Queen Chrysalis was designed by Rebecca Dart; Hasbro felt the initial design was not intimidating enough, so Dart gave her an upright stance.
• An advertisement formally announcing the marriage of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor was placed in The New York Times' wedding section on April 13, 2012.
• The episodes were Lauren Faust's final involvement with the show.