For Twilight and Spike, it had felt like hours since they had left Canterlot for Ponyville, but in reality, it had only been a little over an hour and a half. The train had now reached the midway point on its journey and yet, Twilight still did not feel at peace. Everything that had happened over the past couple of days was still raging in her mind. How she, out of her friends, her brother and her mentor was the only one to notice the glints of Chrysalis's evil under the shroud of her poorly rehearsed masquerade, how helpless and shocked she felt when Chrysalis brainwashed Shining, how little her friends took her seriously when she tried to tell them her concerns about the impostor, how hurt and betrayed she felt when they walked out on her, following her brother to comfort a pony who was completely undeserving of any sympathy, regardless of the crocodile tears she shed, how lost everything seemed when Celestia was defeated and she and her friends were captured before they could reach the Elements of Harmony, and how justified she felt after Chrysalis was beaten. All of this was still cooking up a storm deep in the annals of her mind, and there was little she could do to forget about it. Spike, on the other hand, wasn't as troubled by the recent events of his life, but he certainly did still regret abandoning Twilight, and from the point where he was forgiven, he swore to himself that he would never leave her again. Spike looked up to see Twilight, her face as blank as stone. She seemed lost in thought, but to be sure she was OK, Spike decided to get her attention.

"Twilight, are you OK?"

The lavender unicorn looked at him, having snapped out of her trance. She smiled at him warmly.

"I'm fine Spike. I was just thinking about stuff."

"You were thinking about what had happened, weren't you?"

Twilight looked at Spike with a frank expression. If Spike could tell she was still conflicted with the events of the wedding, then there was no hope of hiding it. With a sigh, she chose to come clean.

"Yeah Spike, I was. I can't help it. It won't go away. Everything that happened.......it's all stuck in my head and I can't get it out!"

Spike frowned. Twilight was clearly still in anguish and self-pity. He could tell she was hurting badly from being abandoned, but there was something else. Something he couldn't quite put his claw on. Fortunately, he wouldn't have to ask.

"What if I was wrong Spike?"

"What do you mean Twi?"

"What if I was wrong? What if Cadance wasn't an impostor? What if she really was just going through a hard time? Do you have any idea........?"

Twilight couldn't finish her words. The pain in her heart had become too great. As she began to sob once more, Spike immediately took the mare in his arms, consoling her for all she was worth. He was still her loyal assistant, and as such he would follow up on his role's job description, as well as the promise he made to himself to never leave her again, following his forgiveness by Twilight.

"I know Twi. I know".

Just then, the conductor called out from the middle carriage.

"Next stop, Ponyville! All passengers, the next stop is Ponyville!"

"Twi, we've arrived".

Helping the unicorn to dry her eyes, Spike stood back as Twilight returned to her hooves.

"Let's go home Spike. I think I need to lie down".

Together the unicorn and baby dragon faced the left side of the train, looking out the windows into the station as the train rolled to a stop, steam hissing from it's every orifices. Once the locomotive had reached a complete stop, the duo disembarked, bypassing the station building before heading towards the Golden Oaks Library.

Back at the castle, Princess Luna was holed up in her private quarters, furiously trying to win a game of Team Slayer on Halo 3's multiplayer, the game being set in the map Valhalla. Her Spartan was camped in the Forerunner building to the right of the crashed Pelican, armed with a sniper rifle. From her perch on the wall next to the gravity lift, she was awaiting any intruders from the red team to cross the mound in the middle, as well as either up the river or across the mound to the left. She then smiled and clenched an eye as a red Spartan came into view on the river. She zoomed in on the Spartan's head, intent on sniping him clean through the skull. As she began pushing down the right trigger using her magic, there were three knocks on the door. Her focus instantly derailed, Luna had little choice but to let her guests enter.

"Come in!" Said Luna, who had little idea her guests would be royal guards with very specific orders. When they did enter, she wasted no time leaving the game before getting up off her beanie bag to face Shining, who had just walked in behind his vanguard.

"Captain Armor? What brings you here?"

"Princess Luna, we need you to come with us. Celestia has requested your presence in the wedding hall immediately."

With an instant feeling of urgency coursing through her body, Luna was quick to acquiesce to Shining's orders.

"Please Captain, lead the way. Whatever my sister asks of me, I will not hesitate to fulfill."

With that, Shining led Luna down to the throne room. Behind them, the guards closed the doors to her private quarters, before following after them. It was about midway into the journey when Luna picked up on the aura of tension that floated in the air around Shining and the guards, making her feel uneasy. Whatever Celestia wanted her for, it certainly wasn't anything light-hearted. Unfortunately for Luna, she would be proven right as the group approached the throne room. The doors remained open, allowing Luna a clear glance at her sister, who was watching her as the two sisters drew closer. The look on her face was neither smiling nor frowning, but one of concern. The former was pleased to see her, but also equally worried. The escort stopped just a few metres away from the Sun Princess, allowing Shining to step forward to address her.

"Princess, we have brought your sister as you requested."

"Thank you Captain. That will be all."

With that, Shining bowed, before turning on a dime and motioning to his men to leave the sisters alone, returning to their stations as the throne room's ceremonial guards. Before Shining could make himself idle, a unicorn Royal Guard sentry ran up to him, carrying a letter with his magic. Having opened the letter and read its contents, Shining learned of how Chrysalis and the remnants of her army had attacked a settlement near the border, burning it to the ground and taking the inhabitants prisoner. His face was initially grim with dread, but Shining recomposed himself, and dismissed the sentry. Meanwhile, Luna was first to break the ice between herself and Celestia.

"What is the matter dear sister? Why hath you summoned me before you?"

"Luna, I need to ask you some questions. The reason is that in light of my most recent actions, as well as those of Captain Armor and the Element Bearers, Canterlot nearly fell."

Luna gasped in shock. She knew Celestia had bad news for her, but this was beyond anything she had imagined.

"What?! What do you mean Canterlot nearly fell?!"

"Canterlot nearly fell, because of the collective incompetence of myself, Captain Armor and the Element Bearers. As you know, we had received word of a threat against Canterlot, which turned out to be true and more effective than we believed. An army of beings known as Changelings stormed the city, injuring many of our citizens and Royal Guards, while also harvesting their love for their own ends. Also, we did not know it at the time, but their leader, Queen Chrysalis, had managed to somehow infiltrate the city, taking the place of the bride after locking her in the Canterlot Caves."

"Canterlot Caves?" Asked Luna curiously. It was only now that everypony in the castle had learned of the caves, and ever since, Celestia had sent a scouting party of Royal Guards to investigate them, in order to find out how Chrysalis had managed to imprison both Cadance and Twilight in them, while taking measures to ensure they are never used in such a manner ever again. However, that was the least of her concerns. The tale that Celestia was spinning before her was intriguing her more and more.

"Following Twilight and the Element Bearers arrival at the castle, as well as the former's reunion with her brother and foalsitter, it was from that point that Twilight believed something was not right with the bride-to-be. According to testimony from her friends, she told them that she saw the impostor embarrass and humiliate them without them even realizing it, something that my niece would never, ever do. It was also revealed at the wedding that the impostor had put Captain Armor under a mind-control spell, with Twilight watching every second of it. Then, when she tried confronting the fiend openly, like indignant fools we chose to abandon her. Also, we didn't just walk out on her. Captain Armor disowned her, stripped her of her title as Best Mare and banned her from the wedding, her friends walked out on her, and I.............I said she had a lot to think about."

Luna gasped again. Something like this from her sister was unheard of. Ever since that Nightmare Night when Twilight restored her relationship with the citizens of Ponyville, Luna knew and recognized the fact that Twilight was nothing short of respectable, honorable and a true friend, deserving of everything she had achieved to this point. In fact, it was because of Twilight that she was freed from the clutches of Nightmare Moon, a deed that truly won her sister's praise and gratitude. But now, the teacher who had taught her student so much about magic and friendship simply walks out on her, as did her brother and friends when all she was trying to do was save them from a terrible fate? To Luna, that was both an outrage and a major injustice to the lavender unicorn, who had done so much for not only Equestria, but for them both. Before she could say anything, Celestia continued.

"If you're thinking about chastising me, I beg of you to reconsider. I have heard enough as it is from Twilight, Cadance and Spike even. I know I am guilty of nearly letting my subjects, my ponies meet their doom, I know I am guilty of nearly letting Canterlot be wiped off the face of Equestria, and I am especially sorry for betraying my student, who holds so much faith for me and has given everything to both ourselves and Equestria. Just please, do not chastise me. I have already been punished enough for my sins."

Luna could only watch as her sister lowered her head in shame. She could feel her eyebrows and face contort into a mask of pure disappointment, even anger at her sister for doing such a thing, and she had no intention of relinquishing the emotions that were taking over at present. Her next action defaulted, Luna glared at her sister sternly.

"Dear sister, I have known you for a long, long time. You may not be omnipotent, and on that matter, neither am I, but you of all ponies should know when something is wrong. Your capability to write off somepony's feelings as mere folly is of no surprise to me, considering it was what happened between us long ago, but in these circumstances I find it particularly hard to believe you could write off your student, the one pony besides me whom I know you care very dearly for and trust implicitly, as a jealous and overpossessive brat. Surely one like yourself would have learned from their past mistakes. Do you remember the day I became Nightmare Moon?"

Celestia clenched her eyes in pain. The memories of that dreadful episode of her life were rushing back into her mind. If that wasn't already a slash to her heart, then the knowledge that what happened then draws similar comparisons to the rehearsal would absolutely double it.

"I turned to the dark side for want of recognition of the beauty of the night by my subjects. As the days passed, and my hopes turned into bitterness, you ignored it for the limelight, leaving me to succumb to my demons. The price you paid was one which I know very well caused you immense grief. You had no choice but to banish me to the moon for 1000 years. A heavy price to pay, perhaps not one more heavy than that of death, but it was still a loss that affected you deeply. Knowing this, then one such as yourself should have learned the lesson to take others more seriously, especially those closest to you. How do I know? Well, when on that Nightmare Night I tried to connect with my subjects, it was Twilight who helped me to become more down-to-earth and kinder to my subjects than before. Indeed, it had been 1000 years since I last saw Equestria, and much has changed. But it was thanks to Twilight that I was able to "modernize", as the locals say. It is because of this that I understood why she was your student. You saw much potential in her. You believed that she was the perfect protege, and thus you took her under your wing in order to help her realize that potential. Yet, for somepony who holds so much faith in her student, and especially when that same student in equal measure believes in you, how could you let her down?"

Celestia could feel another slash tear through her heart as Luna hit her with another telling question. For all intents and purposes, this felt like an interrogation, and probably the most painful and harrowing encounter she had to deal with yet.

"I did not let her down Luna. I was only doing what I thought was right."

"So you thought it was right to break the heart of "your most faithful student", betraying her trust in the process? Have you forgotten just how much she believed in you? DId you not realize the potential ramifications your actions could've had on her?"

"I did not forget!" Celestia snapped in frustration. "I.........knew Twilight trusted me. I just didn't think that what I did would hurt her so badly. She is a mare now, not a foal. One would expect her to take it maturely. Furthermore, she did also upset the bride, my niece."

"But that wasn't your niece. That was an impostor with evil intentions, yet you let her facade fool you, and I know you sister. You're no fool. How?"

With that, Celestia was beaten. In the midst of her struggle to find an answer to how she failed to differentiate the impostor from her niece, tears began flowing from her eyes. The alicorn started crying, her stubbornness finally failing.

"I don't know Luna. I just..............don't know. I cannot explain how I believed that impostor to be my niece. She acted nothing like her.........the niece we know and love is warm, kind and caring, but the Cadance we saw at the wedding..........she was so cold and distant. Honestly Luna, I can't explain it. I just..........."

Celestia couldn't say anymore, and Luna could see it. Perhaps she had been a bit too scathing in her criticism of her sister. That wasn't the reason she was here. She was brought here to answer questions, and it was under those conditions that she decided to relent.

"I am sorry, dear sister. Like Twilight, Spike and Cadance before me, I find it hard to comprehend how you, along with Shining and the Element Bearers can dismiss the impostor's attitude as mere stress. We both know Cadance is capable of taking on any responsibility with the same good grace and warmth she is so blessed with. The one you saw at the wedding was a poorly rehearsed act of imitation, one undeserving of her very image. Still, that is not the reason you summoned me."

After pulling herself together, Celestia took a moment to compose herself before speaking.

"Yes Luna. I need you to answer some questions pertaining to the wedding. First off, when dawn broke over Canterlot, what happened when you left your post?" Next Chapter: Chapter 5 - Actions Speak Louder Than Words Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 15 Minutes