The wedding hall remained as it was from the moment Twilight ran out crying; a room with an atmosphere crushed under the heavy weights of regret and sorrow. Shining Armor, in particular, was taking this harder than the others. It was because of him that the most recent events of the day transpired, and it wasn't just any old day. It was supposed to be the happiest day of his life since the day he had met Cadance. It was almost unfathomable, how far he had fallen from grace. One moment he was the groom, deeply in love with his bride and super excited for their wedding day. Now, he felt like the world's worst brother. Not only did he ban Twilight from this once-in-a-lifetime event, but he had to go and scar her mentally as well. There was no doubting it; his actions had inflicted severe damage on their relationship, damage that had clear knock-on effects as demonstrated by Cadance and Spike. To make matters worse, he knew that it wouldn't end there. The greatest evidence of a life-changing event is one's memories, and at the present time, the memory in Shining's head was fresher than a baker's dozen from Sugarcube Corner. The stallion was beginning to grow desperate, fueled by his intense remorse for his actions. Hoping that Celestia might help him, he turned to her for answers.

"Princess, is there anything we can do?"

"I don't think there's much we can do Shining. As it stands, we have done enough already. Perhaps it is best we take no further action".

"But Princess, we can't just sit here and do nothing!" Cried Rainbow. If there was one thing the cyan blue pegasus was known for, it was stubbornness. And once more that same stubbornness was driving her will to action. Meanwhile, Applejack was still trying to comprehend Twilight's revelation that their actions had put her life, as well as the lives of several thousand ponies including their own in danger. However, she was at war with her pride, which was trying to convince her that Twilight's actions were over the top and completely unlike her, not to mention rude and shameful. They had the matter well in hoof anyway, or so Applejack's pride, stubborn as ever, was trying to convince her. That was the question burdening Applejack's mind, however. Did they really have the matter under control, or were they too caught up in the wedding to remember what was at stake?

"Girls, tell me Twilight wasn't right. Tell me we didn't forsake innocent lives for a wedding".

The girls could only look at her with frank expressions. Were it not for Twilight and Cadance's intervention, Canterlot faced certain doom at the hooves of Chrysalis, and they would've been held responsible.

"Oh mah........." Said Applejack, horrified. She had finally come to terms with her mistake. Their mistake, which deserved a big fat mark of shame. Suddenly, the hall's doors opened to reveal Cadance, who had come bearing news for Celestia. If the Princess had guessed correctly, this wouldn't be good news in the slightest.

"Aunt Celestia, Twilight wishes me to inform you that she is no longer your student. Additionally, because you said she had a lot to think about, after taking a moment to gather her thoughts, she has resigned from her post as the bearer of the Element of Magic. That is all."

For the fourth time in a row, silence fell over the room as the Mane 5, Shining Armor and Celestia looked at Cadance in shock and horror. By the Creator, was Shining right when he guessed this wasn't over. Yet another price had been paid for their mistake, and one that was very, very costly. For Celestia and the Mane 5, this was very grave news. Without Twilight to lead them, the Elements of Harmony would become useless, and Equestria as a whole would lose its greatest means of defense. Unfortunately, in this scenario, there was no "would've". Instead, it was a case of "had".

"She........she did what?" Gasped Celestia speechlessly.

"Has she lost her mind or something?!" Yelled Rainbow, equally as shocked as the Sun Princess.

"Without her, we can't be friends anymore!" Cried Pinkie.

"Uhh, Pinkie, that isn't entirely the case". Deadpanned Applejack. "Without Twilight, the Elements become useless!"

"Equestria becomes defenseless.........." Added Shining, the proverbial dots joining together as he spoke.

"And any enemy that attacks us will have free reign to wreak havoc." Finished Celestia. If this was the ultimate price they were being made to pay for their actions, it was

something they needed to rectify, and fast. With a look on her face that screamed "enough is enough", Celestia turned to Shining to issue orders.

"Shining, take four of your men and bring Luna to me. I need to know what she was doing the day of the invasion. Afterwards, I will update her on the situation".

"Right away your Majesty". Replied Shining without hesitation. Marching up to the doors, still wearing his ceremonial Mareish Guards dress, Shining motioned to four of the eight throne room guards standing before him.

"Hunter! Raider! Nightshade! Prowler! Come with me."

"Yes sir!" Replied the four guards in unison, following Shining down the hall as he trotted ahead of them. As soon as they got into formation, they broke into a canter, making haste for Luna's private quarters. In the meantime, Celestia turned to Cadance.

"Cadance, is there anything else you wish to tell me?"

"Yes Aunt Celestia. Twilight also wished me to inform you that she and Spike will be returning home as soon as they are done packing. They believe they are no longer welcome here, as regards the ban Shining forced on her at the rehearsal".

Celestia could feel her gut twisting with guilt more and more. They really had gone too far in their treatment of her.

"Very well. Cadance, can you and the girls try talking to her?"

"Why Auntie? To ask for her forgiveness and to get her to resume being your student, or simply to resume being your attack dog?"

Celestia sighed in annoyance. Cadance did have a right to be angry, considering how close she was with Twilight, but this was the equivalent of sticking thorns in her body.

"Cadance, I need you to talk to Twilight, because she needs to know I am extremely sorry for what I have done. I would do it myself, but I must oversee repairs to the city, as well as the immediate treatment of the injured. The ponies need a leader to unite them in this dark time, and I am more than willing to do just that. I need you, however, to talk to Twilight. In fact, let her know that if she wants an audience with me to gain her trust, I would be more than happy to meet with her. Just please try to bring her around. She must know that her resignation spells doom for Equestria and life as we know it".

"Very well" Replied Cadance. "Come on girls. We must catch the train".

Nodding to signal their replies, the Mane 5 followed Cadance out of the castle to the train station, leaving the Princess alone in the hall. For once, she could take a moment to truly feel the atmosphere in the room, the strongest layer being Twilight's anguish and rage during her outburst, which brought forth the revelation that she could have died due to her rejection by her friends and family that fateful night. As a teacher, Celestia was extremely disappointed in herself. She considered herself a hypocrite for having taught Twilight all those lessons about friendship and magic, only to show nothing by herself. Celestia had to face facts; everything that happened and everything that was going to happen was brought on by herself, Shining Armor and the Mane 5. The only thing she couldn't imagine happening, however, was a second invasion.

Somewhere in the outskirts of Canterlot, Chrysalis regained consciousness after suffering both a heavy defeat and a long fall from Canterlot Castle deep into the province's borderlands. Around her, some of her Changelings were also coming to, but their numbers had been severely depleted following the massive pulse of magic released unto them by Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. Grunting and groaning angrily, the Changeling Queen got up on all fours, before raising a hoof into the sky in damnation.

"You have not seen the last of me Celestia! I will return, and when I do, Canterlot will BURN!"

Growling with intense menace, Chrysalis looked around her in order to find something to tear apart. A house, a rock, anything would suffice. But what she saw instead was a small settlement, complete with an equally small garrison of Royal Guards. Dark and evil thoughts began to seep into Chrysalis's mind, but her thinking was quickly ceased by the yelling of a nearby farmer who fled to the village to warn the garrison. Thinking quickly, Chrysalis turned to her Changelings to rally them.

"On your hooves, quickly! If we are to regain our strength, we must feed. The time has come for Canterlot to learn the true strength of the Changelings".

Together, Chrysalis and her ragtag, yet respectable strike force hurried to the village, intent on razing it to the ground. Opposite them, the garrison of Royal Guards was also rushing towards them, with the mission to take down Chrysalis and exile her and her troops from Canterlot. A battle was on the rise, but before the already present hostilities could escalate, the two sides stopped just metres from each other. As was customary with the rules of war, both parties would first try to talk each other out of it. If no resolution could be reached, fighting could then begin.

"Listen up Changelings!" Yelled the lead Royal Guard. "Surrender now and you will not be harmed."

Chrysalis cackled evilly. To her, the Royal Guard were as naive as ever, but one should never underestimate their capabilities. That much was clear.

"Surrender? Hah! You fools, don't you know who I am?"

"Of course we do!" Said the youngest Royal Guard, a rookie by all appearances. "You're a love-stealing evil thug!"

The rookie's comment was met with a slap to the head by his commandant.

"Shut up Spark!" Growled the commandant in annoyance. Over-eager rookies were normally all it took to detonate a powder keg of tension.

Fortunately, this keg did not blow immediately, but it would soon.

"I see somepony is eager!" Chuckled Chrysalis, entertained by Spark's determination. "But nonetheless. You know why we are here. You know what we want, and if you do not surrender, then we will happily walk over you and anypony else who stands in our way to get it".

Chrysalis's threat was met with laughter from the Guards, angering her greatly.

"How typical of your lot, Chrysalis" Chortled the lead Guard, Defiant Aegis. "Royal Guards!"

Aegis's Guards stood to attention, poised to strike on his word. Chrysalis and the Changelings followed suit.

"CHARGE!" Yelled both commanders as their forces clashed. The battle was ferocious. Despite being armed with weapons and armor, the Royal Guards were finding it tough fighting the vicious and determined Changelings. Even Spark was having trouble dancing the ballet of clashed blades with his other, despite his high morale. But as time passed, the losses began to build as even though they had lost a lot of their troops, the Changelings were gaining a lead over the Royal Guards. Eventually, after a spree of incapacitating and harvesting the love of her opponents, Chrysalis was left with Aegis, who was a bedraggled mess. He had knocked one of Chrysalis's Changelings out cold with a swift strike to the pony's temple using his leg armor. Knowing his time was up, Aegis turned to face the victorious Changeling Queen.

"If you think I'm gonna surrender, you're dead wrong Chrysalis. I may fall, but I will fight you to the bitter end, because that is the reason I am a Royal Guard! We will never-"

"Oh shut up!" Boomed Chrysalis, who fired an ice spell at Aegis, freezing him solid. That was it, there was nothing left to stand in her way. Smiling evilly as she watched the villagers flee for their lives, Chrysalis gave her troops the command they had fought for.

"Take them."

The spree of devastation seemed to fly by as the Changelings stormed the village, smashing into ponies homes before harvesting their love and setting the place on fire. Those who tried to resist were quickly incapacitated and harvested. Those who gave themselves up were spared harvesting, but were taken prisoner. Within hours, the village was ablaze, and Chrysalis and her Changelings, with their prisoners in tow, proceeded to return to their hive in the mountain range known as the Black Widow's Peak. Next Chapter: Chapter 4 - Scathing Criticism, Undying Regret Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 27 Minutes