Princess Cadance

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza "Cadance" is a fictional character who appears in the fourth incarnation of Hasbro's ''My Little Pony'' toyline and media franchise, beginning with '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' (2010–2019). She first appears in the second season finale as a major character and serves as a recurring character throughout the series. She is voiced by Britt McKillip.

Princess Cadance is depicted as a kind and compassionate anthropomorphic alicorn with a special talent for spreading love and healing broken relationships and was Twilight Sparkle's foal-sitter. Following her marriage to Twilight’s older brother Shining Armor, Cadence becomes the ruler of the Crystal Empire, and is responsible for protecting its crystal ponies. She is characterized by her pink and purple coloring, flowing multicolored mane. Her cutie mark depicts a blue crystal heart.

Appearances

Fourth ''My Little Pony'' incarnation (2010–2021)

''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic''

Cadance first appears in the second season finale "A Canterlot Wedding" when she is marrying Shining Armor. However, the reunion is complicated when Queen Chrysalis, disguised as Cadance, imprisons her and attempts to drain Shining Armor's love through their wedding ceremony.

Cadance takes on a central role in the third season premiere " The Crystal Empire" when she and Shining Armor are tasked with protecting the Crystal Empire from the dark unicorn King Sombra. Throughout the episode, Cadance exhausts herself maintaining a magical barrier around the empire, using her love magic to "spread love and light" and keep Sombra's corruption at bay.

In "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows", it is revealed that she and Shining Armor are expecting their first child. In the sixth season premiere "The Crystalling", Cadance gives birth to Flurry Heart, an alicorn foal whose powerful and uncontrollable magic threatens the Crystal Empire.

''My Little Pony: The Movie''

Cadance appears in the beginning of the film alongside Celestia and Luna, preparing for the Friendship Festival in Canterlot. When the Storm King's forces, led by Tempest Shadow, attacks Canterlot, Cadance attempts to defend the city, but is turned to stone by Tempest's obsidian orbs. She remains petrified for most of the film until the Storm King’s defeat releases all the captured magic, restoring her and the other princesses to normal.

''My Little Pony: Pony Life''

Cadance appears in the spin-off reboot series in the second season episode What Goes Updo, in which she gives new hairdos to the Twilight and most of her friends at the Crystal Empire Carnaval. Her relations to Twilight and Shining Armor are not specified.

Equestria Girls alternate version

Cadance's human world counterpart, Dean Cadance appears in the film '' My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games'' as the friendly dean of Crystal Prep Academy. She is portrayed as being on good terms with Vice Principal Luna, despite her working at a rival school. She also appears as one of the judges during the titular competition and often offers advice to Twilight Sparkle's human world counterpart at different points of the film. In the special Dance Magic, it is mentioned that she is now the principal of Crystal Prep, now known as Principal Cadance.

Reception and analysis

Kevin Fletcher, in his essay ''My Little Pony, Communalism and Feminist Politics'', wrote that Princess Cadance represents part of Equestria's "upper-class elite" as one of the four alicorn princesses. Fletcher observed that three of the alicorns are linked to traditional images of planetary deities, suggesting that "Cadance could correspond to Venus" alongside Luna as the moon and Celestia as the sun. He noted that there are different types of alicorns within the show's mythology; he distinguished between those who earn their alicornhood through transformation, like Twilight Sparkle, and those born as alicorns, like Cadance's daughter Flurry Heart. Fletcher also contextualized Cadance's character design within the industry's marketing considerations, and commented on how Hasbro executives' belief that "princess pony toys would be more marketable" than queen toys influenced the franchise's approach to royal character development.

In a collection of essays on ''Friendship Is Magic'', author Jen A. Blue wrote that Princess Cadance possesses one of the series' most "oversignified" names, with her formal title "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza" carrying dual symbolic meaning: ''mi amore'' establishes her as "the Princess of Love" while ''cadenza''—a musical term for an ornamental solo passage designed to showcase virtuosity—reflects her narrative function in her debut appearance. Blue interpreted Cadance's performance in " This Day Aria" as a "virtuoso solo passage," and wrote that despite appearing to be a duet with Queen Chrysalis, it functions as an aria since "Chrysalis isn't just disguised as Cadance; in a sense, she is Cadance, another side of the same coin." According to Blue, both characters represent different aspects of love—"Chrysalis devours while Cadance creates"—with their shared power demonstrating that "within a universe where friendship is magic, love is pure power."

Blue also noted how the deceptive cadence (also known as ''false cadence'') that ends "B.B.B.F.F. (Reprise)" creates a musical fake resolution that parallels Chrysalis' impersonation of Cadance. This easter egg was later confirmed to be intentional by song composer Daniel Ingram. Fan news site '' Equestria Daily'' quoted a Reddit user, who wrote:

"There was actually a double meaning in the song. The song is in the key of Db Major (just like winter wrap up!) . That means that the root chord is a Db major chord. Usually, a Ab major chord will lead into a Db major. This is the V-I chord progression and it is also known as the Authentic Cadence ..Now, it seems to resolve to a sadder chord at the end of the phrase. Instead of ending on Db major around 1:16, it lands on Bb minor: the relative minor of Db major. Now, when a chord progression seems to be heading to the root chord but lands on the relative minor instead, that is called a... ''deceptive cadence''.

A 2015 content analysis study by Christian Valiente and Xeno Rasmusson examining gender roles in ''Friendship Is Magic'' identified Princess Cadance as an example of the show's subversion of traditional gender stereotypes, writing that while her wedding episodes ostensibly center on both her and Shining Armor, "the main dialogue and action belong to the females" and the male groom is "relegated to a supporting role." The researchers wrote that Cadance is consistent with the show's pattern of placing female characters "in positions of leadership" and as active decision-makers, particularly when she joins the other princesses in deciding "to give their magic to Twilight".

Carly Olsen, writing in ''Screen Rant'', ranked Cadance as the fifth most powerful magic user in ''Friendship Is Magic''.

See also

* Princess Celestia
* Princess Luna
* Twilight Sparkle
* List of ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' characters

References

{{My Little Pony

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters
Female characters in animated television series
Fictional princesses
Fictional unicorns
Winged unicorns
Pegasi
Animated characters introduced in 2012
Television characters introduced in 2012