As Celestia continued questioning Luna on her absence during the battle against the Changelings, Shining (who was standing away from them next to the throne room's massive doors) was getting anxious. Twilight was somewhere out there, hurt, alone, and for all he knew, lost. He was desperate to let her know how sorry he was for what he did. He even refused to recall what he did to her, considering the price his actions carried placed a heavy weight of shame on himself. If it was any consolation, however, he was able to channel that shame into willpower, and he intended to use it to do whatever it would take to find his sister. His attention soon returned to the royal sisters, who were just finishing up Luna's interrogation.

"So you were sleeping during the attack?

"That is correct sister. Additionally, I have information you may want to hear."

Celestia smiled responsively. Any information she could get at this time would be of great assistance to figure out how this happened.

"Following your departure to oversee the wedding rehearsals, I was manning the watch as usual, until Cadance flew up to me. She asked me if I knew a spell she had recently learned. I don't remember exactly what happened after that, but I do remember asking her what spell she had learned."

"Is that so?" Celestia remarked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. Why would her niece need to see Luna during her watch, and only to show her a spell she had learnt? The answer seemed glaringly obvious; Chrysalis had magicked Luna to sleep, before taking her back to her quarters to make it seem as if nothing had happened. With a "mmph" of configuration, she smiled at Luna once more.

"Thank you Luna. I'm sorry if this interrogation caused you any inconvenience."

"You have nothing to be sorry for my dear sister. I understand what you are doing is for the good of our kingdom."

With that, the interrogation was over. Deciding to waste no further time, Shining made his move.

"Princess Celestia?"

"Yes Captain Armor?"

"I cannot hold my tongue any longer. I have to go and find Twilight. Every second of her absence is killing me. You must let me go with Cadance."

"As much as I respect and admire your loyalty to your family Captain, I'm afraid your duties lie elsewhere. Your first order of business is to split up every officer under your command into two groups. The first group is to form patrols with the orders to comb the city for any Changelings that may be still in the city. They have my permission to use tracking magic as well. Any Changelings they find, living, wounded or dead are to be brought back to the castle immediately for treatment as seen fit by me. As for the other group of officers, they are to take their men and assist with reconstruction efforts wherever they are needed."

"Yes ma'am." Replied Shining, who prepared to inform his officers via magical telepathy of their orders. Unfortunately, in his haste to leave, he wasn't prepared for what came next.

"And Shining? I believe that Twilight's parents should be informed of these events as soon as you are finished."

Shining stopped dead in his tracks, the equivalent of a spear slamming into his heart. That would mean telling his mother and father, Twilight Velvet and Night Light, of the events that had transpired since the rehearsal, and by the Creator, they would not take it well. Shining was snookered, and he knew it. How he wished that Death would be so merciful. Still, it needed to be done, and the stallion knew he could not forsake priorities for his own wellbeing. Such actions would be unworthy of his rank, as if he had not done enough to stain its honor already.

"Of course ma'am." Shining replied grimly. Even though he was going to have his flank handed to him, the last thing he would ever do, under pain of death, was defy his princess. With no time to lose, he headed off to carry out his orders.

Meanwhile, Cadance and the Mane 5 were aboard the train which followed Twilight's to Ponyville. Inside their carriage, the mood was quite grim. Cadance was focused mostly on how Twilight was going to feel seeing the girls again. While the latter would be pleased to see her again, the presence of the girls would equate to a presence entering her home that was never welcome from the day they had first met. Obviously, Twilight would be irked at the presence of those who betrayed her and left her for dead, so Cadance knew that somehow she would have to explain things in such a way that Twilight's anger would subside, and she would listen. It was fortunate enough that Cadance already had Twilight's trust, given that she had no part in the betrayal, but she still had to ensure the latter was convinced enough to let the Mane 5 be heard. Turning to the girls, she decided to test them, in order to prepare them for what they were about to face.

"Ok girls, I trust you are all aware Twilight will not be pleased to see you?"

"That kinda goes without sayin' Princess" Replied Applejack.

"Yeah. It's not like she didn't make that clear after we defeated Chrysalis" Added Rainbow in annoyance.

"Princess, I don't know about this. What are we going to tell Twilight?" Asked Rarity worriedly. She knew they couldn't afford to say something that would upset Twilight. That much was clear to the lot of them.

"I'll talk to her first Rarity, let her know you all feel terrible for what you did and you want to apologize. At the moment, Twilight only trusts me and Spike, so it's better if I talk to her. As for what you're going to tell her, I'm sure once the time comes, you will know what to say, and more importantly, how to say it. Twilight will forgive you girls. You just need to know how to get the message across."

"But that's the problem Princess." Rainbow cut in. "How are we going to get the message across with Twilight still mad at us?"

"If it is any help Rainbow, I would advise you do not beat around the bush with her. Trust me girls, I've known Twilight for a long, long time. She doesn't like being tricked or lied to."

"Princess, you are aware Twilight isn't exactly innocent of her crimes either?" Rarity quipped cautiously. Unfortunately, she still managed to surprise the pink alicorn.

"What do you mean by that Rarity?"

"Nothing sinister darling. What I'm asking is if you know Twilight did something wrong as well?"

Cadance sighed deeply. Rarity had a point; Twilight did upset the bride, even though she was an impostor. To complicate matters, nopony knew the truth at the time, so by a technicality Twilight was as much at fault as the girls were. However, Cadance did take into account that while upsetting a bride before her wedding is an undeniably despicable act, the knowledge that the fate of Equestria was at stake managed to outweigh her crime, but only a little.

"I know that what she did wasn't exactly noble of herself either, but Rarity, you must understand. Twilight was trying to warn you of an impostor, even if it meant making a bride cry. Believe me, I spent a lot of time with her when she was a filly, and she would never do something like that without good reason."

"That's not the point Princess! Twilight barged into the rehearsal and accused.....well, you, of being evil with no proof to back up her claim. Do you seriously expect us to have just believed her out of blind loyalty?"

"There is blind loyalty, Rainbow, and then there is experience. Has Twilight ever been wrong about something before?"

The girls fell into an uneasy silence. Lesson Zero was the first thing that came into their minds, a testament to the weight of their collective failure. Still, somepony had to say it, and it fell to Rainbow to take up that mantle.

"Well, there was the time Twilight went crazy about her friendship reports to Princess Celestia. I don't know a whole lot about what happened, nor do I remember, but Twi went completely insane trying to find a problem to solve so she could write to Princess Celestia about her friendship lesson."

"It even got to the point where Twilight had to make a problem herself." Said Applejack. "She bewitched her Smartypants doll with a Want It Need It spell which made half of Ponyville, including Big Mac, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo rip each other apart trying to get it. Celestia had to personally go down there to restore order, not to mention speaking to Twilight about what happened."

"Did you defend Twilight then?" Cadance asked inquisitively.

"Of course we did!" Replied Rainbow confidently. "We weren't going to let Twilight be demoted back to Magic Kindergarten just like that!"

"We didn't listen to her when she tried to warn us" Added Fluttershy "So we knew we had to do something to help her."

"And anyway, that's what friends do!" Pinkie piped happily. "They forgive each other no matter what!"

This made Cadance lower a brow in question. "Then why did you not defend Twilight at the wedding rehearsal?"

Once more, the girls fell silent, unable to find an explanation for their actions. This was a very damning experience for them, but it was one they deserved for treating their best friend the way they did. Eventually, Applejack spoke up, having finally found something to say.

"I..........Oh Luna..........I don't know why we left her. I don't know what we were thinking. I....."

Applejack's voice began to waver as her normally iron will sagged, melting back into a puddle of regret. Everything she had been through, especially the part where Twilight drilled the thought of her untimely death into her head, had finally caught up with her. Unable to compose herself any longer, the cowpony started sobbing. Rarity moved to comfort her. They were all suffering equally as bad as she was, and thus they had to be there for each other and for Twilight especially. Cadance wasn't done though.

"Do you understand now why Twilight is so upset girls? Do you understand the motive behind her rage? Do you understand now that being the bridesmaids of the wedding corrupted your minds to the point where your cares and responsibilities faded into nonexistence?"

The Mane 5 looked at each other glumly, before nodding to Cadance. This make the pink alicorn smile warmly. The girls had succeeded in trying to understand Twilight's fury, and she had helped them to do it. Now they were ready to stand before her and say they were sorry. But most importantly, now they were ready to admit to the ponies of Canterlot they too were responsible for nearly letting the city fall to the Changelings, and now they were ready to do it with grace and humility.

"Then you are ready." Said Cadance firmly.

"Indeed we are Princess." Replied Rarity, who was still consoling the broken and remorseful Applejack. "Indeed we are."

"Next stop Ponyville!" Yelled out the conductor as the train whistled. The group was nearing Ponyville, and Cadance knew it was time for them to get ready.

"We're nearly there girls. Don't forget what you have learned!"

Before long, Applejack had managed to pull herself together. With a sniffle from her snout, she fixed her Stetson and turned to face Cadance, a look of firm and hardy readiness on her face.

"Let's go and get our best friend back". Next Chapter: Chapter 6 - A Storm Is Coming Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 7 Minutes