The Mane 5, with Cadance in tow, entered the main room of the library. Spike was standing atop the stairwell, his face clearly marked with suspicion. There was no trusting the girls, considering the magnitude of what they had done to Twilight at the rehearsal, but it remained to be seen if there was any credibility in their desire to apologize, and even if their apology was solid enough to prove their remorse.

"I'll go and get Twilight. Please wait here."

As Spike left to fetch Twilight, Cadance decided to ensure that the girls knew what they had to say, and more importantly how to say it.

"Feeling nervous girls?"

Four voices hummed in agreement. One did not, and that was Rarity.

"Nervous?" Replied the alabaster unicorn. "I'm shaking like a leaf. Could this be the most important moment in our lives? Celestia please help us."

Cadance's face produced a frank expression. Not only was this the most important moment of the Mane 5's lives, but it was quite possibly the most important moment in Equestrian history. The fate of all ponykind depended on these talks, and Cadance could only wonder how this fact couldn't be more obvious to anypony in general apart from herself and the girls. Just then, Spike stepped down the stairs. Following behind him was a sight that made the group tense up nervously.

It was Twilight.

Her expression was calm, but serious. There wasn't a hint of delight or joy traceable on her face or in her soul. Nothing could get past the stony hardness of her gaze, but the worst of all? The obvious coldness that the group could feel radiating off her. She was still very ticked off at the Mane 5, not just because they were invading her space, but also because she couldn't trust them to walk out on her again. Still, her mindset was very much like Spike's; it remained to be seen if the Mane 5 regretted their actions at all, therefore now was the time to prove it. The first gaze she cast was at Cadance, to whom she smiled.

"Hello Cadance."

"Hello Twilight." Cadance replied calmly. A small part of the pink alicorn was disappointed about the lack of a hoofshake, but it was completely understandable. Furthermore, the want of a hoofshake at this time would have been utter folly. Greater matters such as this always overruled the minor details, a fact Cadance did not forget. Returning to the matter at hoof, Twilight spoke up next.

"You need not explain to me why you and them are here. Spike filled me in on everything, especially the part where those five backstabbers wish to apologize."

"Take that back Twilight! That was uncalled fer!" Applejack barked angrily.

"Everypony calm down!" Urged Fluttershy. "Twilight, have you forgotten why we're here?"

"No Fluttershy,  I haven't. While I will not apologize for that remark, nor will I take it back, I will listen. You want to say sorry? Go ahead."

"Ok Twilight." Cadance interjected. "Girls, remember what you learned. Oh, and by the way Twilight. Aunt Celestia asked me to tell you that if you wish to seek a private audience with her, you are more than welcome to do so. She, too, is sorry for betraying you, and she is willing to settle the matter using any method possible."

"Thank you Cadance. Tell her I will seek an audience when the time is right."

Nodding in response, Cadance signalled to the Mane 5 for somepony to make a move. Despite being originally hesitant, Applejack quickly swallowed her sorrows and stepped up to the plate.

"Twilight, I won't fool around with you. It was my own darned pride that led me to abandon my loyalty. It was my pride that convinced me to leave my best friend so I could follow after the Queen of them Changeling thugs, who I foolishly believed to be the real Princess Cadance. It was my pride!.........that made me betray you Sugarcube. Fer that, I will never forgive myself. I don't deserve your forgiveness, heck, I don't deserve nothing from you. When I betrayed our friendship, I betrayed everything I stood for, and I deeply regret it."

"It wasn't just you that betrayed our friendship Applejack." Rarity added. "We all betrayed it. We all betrayed you Twilight. It was thanks to Cadance, in part, that we now realize the magnitude of our sins. Everything we had been through together, all those friendship lessons we had learned, we threw them out the window as if they were trash. Applejack wasn't the only one who betrayed everything she stood for, we did as well."

"Of course, the damage that was caused to our friendship is only half the battle." Rainbow added. "The next part is much worse, and it is dreadful to even contemplate. When we betrayed you, the connection between us as the Elements of Harmony was critically damaged to the point where they could not be used. If you and Cadance hadn't intervened, there would have been no saving Canterlot. Chrysalis would have revealed her deception and conquered the city in one swift stroke, and the blood of thousands of innocent ponies would have been on our hooves."

"We also failed our Elements." Said Fluttershy. "The Elements chose us because we were supposed to be the physical representations of what they stood for. I failed the Element of Kindness because I failed to show you any compassion."

"I failed the Element of Laughter because I chose not to cheer you up." Added Pinkie. "Which is something I intend to fix immediately, because I'm planning a super special We're-Sorry-For-Betraying-You party just for you!"

"I failed the Element of Loyalty because I did not stand by you when it was needed most." Said Rainbow. "Instead, I let the glamour of being a bridesmaid and the excitement of doing a Sonic Rainboom go to my head. I wasn't going to let them go, so I chose to betray my best friend in favour of a bug."

"I failed the Element of Generosity because I was not generous enough to show you that I still cared about you." Added Rarity. "All I cared about at that point was being a bridesmaid, and the added honour of mingling with Canterlot's nobility."

"And I failed the Element of Honesty because when we wrote that friendship report, we were supposed to have learned an important lesson. That lesson was to never ignore the concerns of your friends, no matter how small. But we did, so in all honesty, we can chalk that up to being a big fat lie. Twilight, we stand here before you, remorseful and ashamed of what we have done. It is with honest hearts that we apologize for abandoning you when you needed us most. We hope you can forgive us."

In unison, the Mane 5 bowed their heads sadly. Tears began to flow from their eyes and everything, but most importantly, the last word had fallen to Twilight. There was silence, and for a time, nothing seemed to be happening. That was until the nut finally cracked.

Twilight bowed her head as well, Spike and Cadance looking up to notice her movements. As she did so, tears began flowing freely from her eyes. She was sobbing, just loud enough for the Mane 5 to look up one by one in surprise. They did not know that Twilight, too, had something to apologize for. The latter looked back up again, her stony facade pulled down to reveal the same broken mare they had last seen in the wedding hall.

"Girls......" Sobbed Twilight. "You have nothing to be sorry for. It is I who should be remorseful and ashamed."

"Why is that darling?" Asked Rarity.

"Well.......what if I was wrong?"

"About what?" Spike piped up.

Taking a moment to sniffle again, Twilight laid down her sins before them.

"What if I was wrong about the impostor? What if that really was Cadance? Do you have any idea what would have happened to me if..........."

Twilight sobbed harder, the group watching on in stunned silence. Now it was clear to them just how much Twilight valued her friendship with them, as well as her relationship with her brother and with Celestia. She loved them all very dearly, which explained the great pain she was feeling. Suddenly, Fluttershy walked over to Twilight. The latter looked up at her, waterfalls flowing down from her eyes. With little hesitation, the yellow pegasus embraced Twilight in a hug, silencing any further sobbing. It was as if time had stopped completely, the pain and trauma of the world melted by the warmth of Fluttershy's kindness. This was the latter's ultimate redemption.

"Twilight, it doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that we are sorry for what we did, and all we want now is for us to be friends again. We want this to end on good terms, that is all. There is nothing more we desire than this."

With those words, Twilight melted into Fluttershy like ice over a warm fire. She was crying tears of both despair and joy. The rest of the Mane 5, along with Cadance and Spike, joined the hug, doing all in their power to console the distraught unicorn.

"Please don't leave me." Twilight whimpered sadly. "Please don't leave me......."

"Shh Sugarcube." Said Applejack soothingly. "We won't leave you ever again."

That was the way things were for the time being. The outside world didn't matter anymore. For now it was just Twilight, huddled in a warm embrace with those she loved and held dear. There was nothing that could ruin this moment, absolutely nothing. It was just them against the world.

Meanwhile, Snake Bite was maintaining his cover from outside. He had witnessed Cadance and the Mane 5 enter the treehouse, and had also contacted Black Blade for permission to engage. However, Blade ordered Snake to hold position for a little while longer, so as to not make things seem suspicious. Fortunately enough for the elite Changeling spy, he did not have to wait long as around the same time Twilight and company had embraced each other in a hug, Blade soon reported back via telepathy.

"Snake, this is Lieutenant Blade. Engagement at this time is a no-go. Maintain your cover and I will report back when the time to attack is right."

"Understood Lieutenant. Should we find somewhere to billet for the time being?"

"Affirmative. Same goes for Sergeant Tone and his men."

"Roger. Snake Bite out."

With that, Snake turned his attention to Icy Tone, who was comfortably hidden in the brush behind him.

"Sergeant, Lieutenant Blade has given us orders to billet here for the time being. We cannot attack until he says to. Disguise yourselves and your men, and we will go hide somewhere nopony will find us."

"What place would that be Snake?" Tone asked flatly. "There's nowhere in the town we can hide. Somepony would probably catch us."

"Exactly." Replied Snake. "Which is why I suggest we hide in the Everfree Forest. Nopony usually goes in there, and it would provide the perfect cover for us to carve out a plan while we wait for the moment to strike."

"I like your thinking Snake." Tone replied, convinced. "Ok men, engage your disguises. We make for the Everfree. Try not to look suspicious. Remember, we are tourists visiting the town. If anyone asks, we are from Baltimare."

Nodding to their sergeant, the Changeling troops assumed their disguises, as did Icy Tone and Snake Bite. Together they moved out of the brush, making their way southeast toward the Everfree. As they made their way past Town Hall and through the daily market, nopony even paid them a passing glance. Snake grinned. Their disguises were as solid as their nerves. It wasn't long before they reached the bridge that crossed into the treacherous woodland. Whatever perils lay inside did little to faze the nerves of the Changelings. They had a job to do, and they would get it done.

Meanwhile, Canterlot was buzzing with activity. The Royal Guard was out and about, not only patrolling the streets to find and arrest any Changeling stragglers, but to assist with repair and resettlement efforts. Many of the city's buildings were damaged in the fighting, particularly by Changeling pegasi divebomb attacks, and much of the populace was displaced in the chaos. Celestia had tasked Luna to occasionally broadcast an announcement for any and all displaced ponies to meet inside the castle's Hall of Neighyeux, where they would be briefed on the situation of their household. If the damage was too great, they would then be assigned a temporary settlement, and led there by a designated Royal Guard soldier. If the damage wasn't so substantial, then the ponies in question would be allowed to return home. All this was as per Shining Armor's orders to get Canterlot back to working capacity. As for the stallion himself, he and his officers were gathered in the castle's war room, where they were coordinating patrol routes, reconstruction efforts and new areas of temporary resettlement. Shining was talking with one of his officers, Lieutenant Blue Hue, when a runner came up to him and handed him a letter. After thanking the runner, who left the war room immediately, Shining read the letter, which was sent from the village attacked by the Changelings moments earlier. It described how Chrysalis and her Changelings had attacked the village and completely incapacitated and harvested the Royal Guard garrison stationed there before setting the village's homes alight, capturing the residents and harvesting those who tried to resist. Unnerved, but not visibly so, Shining decided to make an announcement to his officers. Stepping up on the pedestal, Shining braced himself as the personnel present in the room began to look up at him.

"Attention everypony! One of our garrisons was attacked and defeated by Chrysalis and the remnants of her army. According to intelligence that was given to me just this very moment, I believe the Changelings are planning a revenge assault on the city. If you know of any of their movements, let me know immediately! We must plan for a defensive operation in advance. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" Was the collective response from the gathered war room personnel.

"Good. Back to work everypony."

With that, the war room returned to its usual activity. As for Shining, he felt it was best Celestia was informed of this development. He decided to give Blue Hue the directive to watch over war room operations while he was gone.

"Lieutenant, I must inform the Princess of the attack on the settlement. Can you take care of things here?"

"With pleasure sir!" Replied the lieutenant happily.

"Thanks Hue. I won't be long."

With that, Shining left the war room. Trotting through the castle's long and myriad hallways, he finally came across Celestia's private study, guarded by two of his men.

"State your business." One of the guards said gruffly.

"I wish to inform Princess Celestia of an attack on our subjects." Replied Shining.

"Proceed" Answered the Guard, who proceeded to open his door to the study. His partner did the same, before stepping back to allow Shining access. The latter walked inside the study, where he found Celestia at her desk, filing through a mess of papers which lay before her. She was deep in thought, as well as misery. No doubt the events from earlier were still taking a hefty toll on her mind. Just before Shining could salute the monarch, he heard her quill stop writing.

"What is it you want?" The sun princess spoke glumly. Shining proceeded to salute before answering.

"Your Majesty, I wish to inform you of an attack on one of the settlements outside the city."

"Were there any survivors?"

"Only the Royal Guard garrison ma'am. However, they were completely harvested. A search party found their commander frozen solid. There were no villagers though. It was apparent that the Changelings had taken them prisoner."

A brief silence took hold as Celestia registered the news, before resuming her job.

"Any other news captain?"

"No ma'am. Aside from that, there's nothing else to report."

"Very well. Captain, may I talk to you in private?"

"Of course your Majesty."

Shining expected Celestia to begin talking, but instead the solar alicorn rose from her perch before motioning to the stallion to accompany her out of the study. With little hesitation, Shining followed Celestia through the doors, the guards saluting as she went. With a reciprocating nod and salute (respectively), the two ponies proceeded through the halls of the castle up to Celestia's private bedchambers, two rows of guards watching over the hall leading to both Celestia and Luna's rooms. The two princesses stayed close so that one could be there for the other in times of distress, but for now that was not to be as Luna was monitoring reconstruction efforts down in the city. Passing through the massive double doors that led to the junction connecting both sister's bedchambers, Celestia led Shining through the door on the right. What greeted the Guard Captain was a sight he had seen often enough, but still awe-inspiring in it's visage.

The walls, floor and roof were cast marble, a red carpet stretching from the door to Celestia's bed, equally an impressive sight as the room itself. Furnishing the room was Celestia's wardrobe, a study where she kept endless amounts of correspondence, particularly from Twilight and her friends, a mirror as high as the tip of the alicorn's horn and a rather extravagant grandfather clock, designed using the wood from an oak tree to create a working celebration of the sun, which crowned the head of the clock. Shining's thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of Celestia throwing herself atop her bed, dispirited and miserable. The dreadful events of the rehearsal were still eating away at her heart, not least that of Shining or any of the other parties involved in the fiasco.

"How could I have been so blind Shining?" Celestia moped, acknowledging her captain's first name for the first time in a long time.

"That is a question I am tormented with every day ma'am." Replied Shining, equally as sorrowful. However, he was met with no answer as it turned out Celestia had fallen asleep. The captain was debating whether to watch over her or leave her in peace, but before he could make up his mind, Celestia suddenly let out a distressed whimper. Unbeknownst to Shining, the Solar Princess was entering a nightmare.

You have a lot to think about.......

Celestia started tossing and turning, her hooves planting themselves against her temples. Her eyes and teeth were clenched shut in pain and she was letting out groans that would rend one's heart irrevocable. Concerned for his princess, Shining tried waking her up.

"Princess! Wake up! Please wake up!"

You have a lot to think about......

"No, please!" Celestia cried. "There was no way I could have known...........I did everything I could!"

"Celestia, please wake up!" Cried Shining.

You have a lot to think about-bout-bout-bout-bout-bout..........

Things were building to a climax as Celestia's eyes and teeth clenched tighter and tighter with every passing second.

"No........no!"

Suddenly, a voice that sounded like Twilight ripped through the Princess's ears.

HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME?!

Celestia screamed in her Royal Canterlot Voice as she woke. The sound was so loud that it caused everything made of glass in the room (along with Shining's eardrums) to shatter. The Guard Captain immediately tried to calm down Celestia as best as he could.

"Princess! Please calm down! I'm begging you!"

Eventually, Celestia got a hold of herself. Panting heavily, she turned to face Shining, tears streaming down her face.

"It's OK Princess, I'm here for you."

That was all it took for Celestia to collapse into Shining, sobbing in despair. Although taken aback, Shining settled into his role, doing his best to soothe the tormented alicorn. Behind him, the doors flung open to reveal Celestia's Royal Guards, with Luna following closely behind.

"We heard the scream............" One of the guards panted gruffly. "We hurried......."

"It's alright everypony." Shining assured the company. "The Princess just had a bad dream."

"Let me see my sister captain." Luna spoke softly.

"Of course Princess." Said Shining, who stepped aside to allow Luna to comfort her distraught sister.

"Why?" Sobbed Celestia. "Why did I ever doubt her?"

"Shh, it's OK big sister." Whispered Luna, comforting her sister. "It's going to be OK."

After a little while, Celestia managed to recompose herself, with a request to boot.

"Luna, guards, I wish to talk with Captain Armor alone."

"Is there a problem sister?"

"No Luna. Shining shares the same pain I do. Only he knows why I grieve at this time, and therefore I request that we be given our peace."

"I understand." Replied Luna respectfully. "Guards, let's go. The Princess requests a moment alone with the captain."

The guards immediately saluted, before giving Luna the lead out of the room. They followed behind her, closing the doors as they left. Sniffling her tears up her nostrils, Celestia turned to face Shining.

"I am sure you do not need an explanation as to my sadness, Captain Armor."

"No ma'am. I understand why you are upset."

With another sniffle, Celestia recalled what she had sent Shining out to do.

"Have you completed your missions Captain?"

"Yes ma'am. my commanders are deploying their troops to assist construction efforts and seek out any Changeling stragglers. I have also informed my parents of Twiley's situation."

"What was their reaction?"

Shining sighed deeply. It was a difficult task to remember what Night Light had told him. Not the sort of difficult where Shining could not recall Night's exact words, but the sort of difficult where emotions and mentality were concerned.

"They were shocked and angered by what I told them. They even issued the warning that if we fail to apologize to Twilight properly, then she may never forgive us again."

Once more Celestia felt her heart shatter, and this made her feel worse; she and the Sparkle couple had been great friends since the day after they first met, but when it was announced to them that Twilight was to become her star pupil, Velvet had immediate reservations as Twilight was so precious to her as well as Night. Celestia assured her she would be fine under her tutoring and she held that for years but the moment she and the others betrayed Twilight, she broke that promise. It did not take much to deduce that the trust a student held in her teacher now lay in tatters.

"Is there anything we can do to make them realize we truly regret our mistakes?”

“I don’t think so, I destroyed my family’s honor because of my betrayal and our naivety. I think the best thing to do right now is to leave them alone until they had time to take in what I told them. I only hope we can all come up with an apology sincere enough to save Twilight from her grudge against us, all of us…..”

Celestia wanted to personally tell Night Light and Twilight Velvet that she, Shining and her student’s friends are all sorry for what they did to Twilight and assure them of their rekindled friendships as soon as possible, but the chances of their blessings and for the chat were slim.

Meanwhile, very much unbeknownst to Celestia, Luna had taken the decision to head off to the Sparkle family home. Her ability to see into ponies dreams had also refined her ability to sense their emotions as well. At present, Luna could sense that the Sparkle parents were distressed and angry. Shining's actions had badly damaged their honor, something the family had proudly carried and improved from generation to generation. This had left them both hurt and furious, emotions which Luna knew full well would suppurate and fester within their souls. Emotions which, once they took hold, would give way to malice, evil and nightmares, an experience which consumed the Lunar Princess herself. Knowing the Tartarus she went through, Luna felt that it would be wrong to leave them fall into the cold icy grip of darkness without so much as a hoof to pull them out. Thus, she decided to take it upon herself to talk things out with them.

"I will not leave anypony to fall victim to the same force that once held me, certainly not this night, nor any other. I will ensure that the Sparkle parents do find peace, or may I be damned to Tartarus for my failure."

With that, Luna spread her wings, before flying off into the distance.

Back at the library, Twilight's sobs were beginning to slow. The Mane 5 backed off to give her some breathing space.

"So Sugarcube, will y'have us as friends again?"

Twilight had eventually stopped sobbing, her emotional wounds partially healed by the warmth handed unto her by the Mane 5. However, her memories did not betray her. It was still clear within the depths of her mind; how harsh her brother was toward her, and how her so-called friends thought it right to walk out on her with no sign of pity or consolation. The worst of it was from Celestia, whom Twilight idolised and worshipped even as a foal. One could even say Twilight loved Celestia just as equally as she loved her mother. But in that fateful moment, everything changed. Not only did Celestia abandon her, but she stabbed her with a proverbial dagger through her heart. The words "You have a lot to think about" continued to ring throughout the young unicorn's head, a constant reminder of her loved one's betrayal. It was because of this her mind was made up already.

"Applejack, you should know it's too early for me to forgive you. I appreciate you've come all this way just to try to make it up to me, but I'm not ready. It's too soon."

The Mane 5's ears collectively drooped in disappointment.

"We understand darling." Replied Rarity. "Take as much time as you need."

"But it can't be too long, right?" Pinkie piped up. "After all, we need you to lead the Elements of-mmph!"

Pinkie's mouth was immediately sealed shut by the force of four hooves desperate to stop her from making things worse. Unfortunately, it was too late.

"Is that it?" Asked Twilight, shocked. "Is that why you've come here?! To make me be Celestia's attack dog again?!!"

"Twilight please! It's not like that!" Cried Applejack, trying to defuse the situation.

"I knew it. I knew I couldn't trust you, yet I let my merciful nature get the better of me! I want you, ALL OF YOU, to get out of my house at once. And don't come back unless you want to be my friends again!"

With that, Twilight galloped back upstairs, utterly offended. Spike looked back at the girls, angered. His strict side came to the fore once more. Before him, the girl's faces were clear expressions of shock and dismay, so too was Cadance's. The pink alicorn was hoping for a better outcome than the one which had transpired.

"You heard her. Don't come back until you're ready to be Twilight's friends again."

The girls did not move a muscle, stuck in a shocked trance. Cadance was left with the job of escorting them out.

"Come on girls, let's go."  

With that, the Mane 5 began to move out of the treehouse, one by hesitant one. Once they had walked clear of the structure, Twilight's shield spell covered it once more. From her bedroom, the unicorn could be heard sobbing.

"Oh Celestia, how are we going to fix this mess?" Fluttershy whimpered anxiously.

Next Chapter: Chapter 8 - Emotional Trauma Estimated time remaining: 33 Minutes