//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: Loved And Lost 
// by EquineAvenger 
//------------------------------//

	Celestia, Cadance, Shining Armor, Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie hid behind a few large bushes and watched as pony drawn carts carrying barrels, crates, and boxes down a road leading to the gates of Canterlot. It was nighttime which made easier for them to sneak around.
“Okay, everypony ready?” Applejack whispered to everyone.
“Ready!” they whispered back.
“Alright, let’s do this.”
While ponies were pulling the carts toward the city gates, the last one suddenly stopped in its tracks half a yard from the gates.
“Hey, is everything alright back there?” an earth mare hauling the second to last cart called to the one behind her.
“I think I’m stuck,” replied an earth stallion hauling the last cart, which was filled with tons of different sized boxes. He was struggling to get it moving again. “Can you help me out? I need to get all this to the castle.” The mare ahead of him unhitched herself from her cart and began walking over to him. For moment, the stallion thought he heard some rustling in his cart, but he decided to ignore it. The mare walked behind the stallion’s cart and started pushing it. In a moment, it started moving again and eventually went through the gates and into the city.
While the cart was being pulled toward the castle, Celestia, Shining, Cadance, Spike, and the Mane Five poked their heads out of the boxes they were hiding in, but not so much as to avoid being spotted. They had snuck onto the cart while it was stuck in the road and hid in some of the boxes it was carrying. Pinkie was somehow able to fit herself in the smallest box, which was half her size. Everyone looked around at the streets of Canterlot that they had not seen for a week. However, one of the biggest changes was the banners that had once had the symbol of the two alicorn sisters were now replaced with ones that depicted a proud-looking illustration of Jewelius. The cart eventually stopped at an intersection. While waiting, the ponies hiding in the boxes started eavesdropping on a conversation between a group of four Canterlot nobles.
“Hail to the hero and new ruler of Equestria, Holy King Jewelius I!” one of the noble mares said toasting with the other three ponies.
“You forgot the brave young Twilight Sparkle, my dear,” one of the noble stallions teasingly reminded her.
“Of course, how could I forget. It was that smart filly who saw the false bride for what she really was.”
“Both she and Jewelius realized what was really going on,” the second noble stallion said. “Unfortunately, nopony believed them until it was too late.”
“But then with Jewelius’s genius and Twilight’s magic, they saved us all in the end,” the second noble mare added.
“Where is Lady Sparkle now?” the first noble stallion asked.
“I hear she spends most of her time reading in the castle library,” answered the second noble mare.
“Poor thing, I heard her parents went missing shortly after the changelings were defeated,” said the first noble mare sympathetically. “After a whole week of searching, they still haven’t found any sign of them. She’s probably worried sick about them.”
This information immediately caught Shining’s ear. He had no idea that his and Twilight’s parents had gone missing. “Mom, dad?!” he whispered anxiously to himself.
“I hear the king has made her his student,” the second noble stallion said.
“Let’s just hope she’ll be able to go farther in life than she did as Celestia’s lap dog,” the first noble mare remarked with bitter disappointment.
“I can’t even say her name anymore,” the first noble stallion said bitterly.
“I’ll say, she, Captain Armor, and those five mares risking all of our lives just to have a wedding! It’s disgraceful!” the second noble mare said angrily.
“Don’t get worked up, dear,” the second noble stallion calming her down. “In the end, they all got what they deserved.”
“Let’s hope we’ll never have to live under her irresponsible rule again,” the first noble stallion proposed another toast.
“How the noble have fallen,” the first noble mare remarked.
Every word was like a dagger in Celestia’s heart. For over a thousand years, she had raised the sun for her subjects and they praised and worshipped her in return. She was held in the highest regard by the nobles of Canterlot. But now, she was a complete failure, a disgrace, an outcast. All because she gave her trust to the wrong pony. She sat in her box and hung her head in shame as the cart continued on its way.
After awhile, the cart finally arrived at its destination. It was pulled through the castle gates and into a courtyard where a unicorn guard was waiting. The stallion pulling the cart unhitched himself and walked over to the guard.
“I have some deliveries here, just need you to look this over and sign it,” the stallion said presenting a form and a pen to the guard.
While the guard was reading and signing the form, the gang saw their opportunity and silently hopped out of their boxes and quietly scurried away. When the guard was done signing the form, the stallion led him over to the cart to check on the cargo. They both gasped when they saw that some of the boxes had been opened.

While the gang was sneaking around, ducking behind bushes or hiding in trees to avoid being spotted by the night patrol, they came across a large open window. 
“Doesn’t look like anypony’s in here,” Pinkie whispered to the others after peeking through the window.
One by one, each member of the group quietly hopped through the window and into the empty room. Now they were all inside the castle.
“What now?” Fluttershy asked.
“Those ponies said Twilight’s probably hanging out in the castle library,” AJ reminded everyone.
“Knowing Twilight and books, that’s the best place to look first,” Spike said.
“Alright, then let’s find that library,” Rainbow said ready for action.
The group then exited the room and came across three hallways leading in different directions.
“I suggest we split up into smaller groups,” Celestia suggested. “A big group is too easy to spot.”
“Alright, let’s go,” Cadance said in agreement.
They split into three groups of three. Cadance, Applejack, and Rarity went down the left hallway; Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash went down the right hallway; and Celestia, Shining Armor, and Spike went down the middle hallway.

Meanwhile, back in the courtyard, the guard and the stallion had gathered some of the night patrol, Commander Hildread, and Lieutenant Shackle to have them take a look at the open crates in the back of the cart.
“It looks like you had some stowaways hitching a ride in the back of your cart and let you sneak them into the castle,” Hildread said inspecting the open crates.
“That’s what I said,” the guard accompanying the cart stallion agreed.
“What should we do, commander?” Lieutenant Shackle asked his commanding officer.
“Simple, we hunt down these unwanted guests,” Hildread replied with an excited and sadistic-looking grin.

Applejack, Rarity, and Cadance were silently walking down a hallway when they noticed a light slowly coming toward them. Noticing a door, the three mares quickly and quietly opened it and went inside to hide, carefully closing the door behind them. They barely avoided being spotted by the oncoming unicorn guard with his glowing horn. Inside the room they had just entered, the three ponies noticed they were in a supply closet with maids’ clothes, towels, and housekeeping carts. 
“Girls, I’ve got an idea,” Cadance announced eyeing the stuff they just found.

Elsewhere, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Fluttershy were walking down a hallway, then heard the sound of a guard approaching. As they started to get nervous, they suddenly noticing a huge painting depicting three ponies on the right wall. Thinking quickly, the three mares climbed up onto the painting and posed in the positions of the ponies in the picture. The approaching guard walked by never noticing them. Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief and they hopped off the painting and continued on their journey.
“I hope we find this library soon,” Fluttershy hopefully and nervously said.
“Me too,” Rainbow nervously agreed.

After awhile, Applejack and Rarity exited the supply closet they were hiding in. They were wearing maids’ outfits and pushing a housekeeping cart, which Cadance was hiding in, with a big towel draped over it. They walked down the hall for awhile until they came face-to-face with another guard.
“What are you two doing?” the guard asked suspiciously.
Both AJ and Rarity trembled nervously, sweat drops started falling from their heads. If they didn’t say something fast, they’d be caught. 
“We’re just… doin’ some late night cleanin’,” AJ spoke.
“Gotta make sure everything is nice and tidy for tomorrow morning,” Rarity added.
The guard stared suspiciously at them for a moment. “Very well, carry on,” he said in a more friendly tone and continued on his way. 
Both mares let out heavy sighs of relief when he was gone then continued on their way. As they turned a corner, they came face-to-face with three other mares. All five of them let out frightened shrieks, but then quieted down when they recognized each other. The three mares they just bumped into were their friends, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie. 
“Oh, it’s you girls,” Fluttershy said relieved.
“Found the library yet?” Rainbow asked.
“We’re headin’ there now,” AJ replied.
“How about we tag along,” Pinkie suggested. “Then we’ll all be together when we find Twilight.”
“You’re not going anywhere but out!” came a threatening and unpleasant voice. The five friends turned to find Commander Hildread, who had a sinister grin on her face, accompanied by a squad of guards. Instantly, fear swept over the five mares as they realized they had just been caught.
“They look like the exiles, Commander,” one of the guards said. “Do you think they might be changelings in disguise?”
“Doubt it,” Hildread answered. “But I think it wouldn’t really matter. They’re still enemies of Equestria.” Then she spoke directly to the five. “You all should’ve stayed where you were and never come back.”
“No way, we heard the rumors about changelings in the castle,” Pinkie argued. “We couldn’t just ignore them and leave our friend, Twilight, in danger!”
Hildread burst into mocking and hysterical laughter. “You really are the funny pony! Because I heard you all didn’t have any problems ignoring her warnings about the imposter bride and abandoning her at the wedding rehearsal! You all really need to stop playing heroes because you’re not! Well, not anymore. You chose to ignore all the obvious signs of danger and focus more on what you could’ve gained if the bride had been the real thing, and as a result, you hurt your best friend, put all of Equestria in danger, and destroyed your own ‘heroic’ reputations all because you wanted to play dress up for a beast!” As Hildread laughed at them, the five mares lowered their heads in shame. Hildread was cruel, but she had a point. They were no better. “So now that you’ve all gotten a dose of reality, why don’t you come along quietly so there won’t be any trouble when we return you back to your places of exile? To think, Twilight Sparkle considered you all her best friends. What kind of pony would risk everything she cares about for the sake of her worthless, pathetic, annoying so-called friends?!” Hildread’s mockery cut deeper and deeper with every word. The five ponies felt their spirits crumbling. But then, Fluttershy looked up at the ceiling and saw a huge chandelier hanging above Hildread and the guards. Then she got an idea.
“Twilight would!” Fluttershy angrily retorted. Then she quickly flew up to the chandelier and kicked the chain holding it to the ceiling causing to break and fall on top of Hildread and the guards entangling them in the diamond chains.
“Good thinkin’, Fluttershy,” Applejack congratulated her friend as she descended back down to the floor.
“But what a waste of a perfectly beautiful chandelier,” Rarity complained.
“Come on, girls,” Cadance said from her hiding place in the housekeeping cart. “We have to find that library and fast.”
“She’s right,” Rainbow agreed. “Let’s get moving.”
The ponies took off down the hall leaving Hildread and the guards struggling to get free of the chandelier.
“Get me out of this, and GET THEM!” Hildread furiously demanded.

Meanwhile, Celestia, Shining Armor, and Spike had arrived at the entrance to the castle library. They were all very nervous; they had to exercise caution for the possibility that this could be some sort of trap.
“Are you both ready?” Celestia asked her two comrades.
“Yes,” Shining answered.
“Let’s do this,” Spike said with serious determination.
Celestia used her magic to open the huge doors and they all entered the library closing the doors behind them. The room was huge. Two stories and both had tall bookshelves filled with books reaching from the floors to the ceilings. This was definitely the kind of place Twilight would be hanging out at.
“Alright, let’s start searching,” Celestia instructed her companions. “But quietly.” With that, the trio split up and started searching different parts of the library.

Back in the hallway, the five were pushing the housekeeping cart and fleeing as fast as they while being pursued by Hildread and her squad, who had gotten free from the fallen chandelier. They approaching a T intersected hallway and the pursuing guards were gaining on them.
“Don’t let them get away!” Hildread angrily commanded the guards.
“They’re gaining on us!” Fluttershy said fearfully. “I don’t think we’ll be able to outrun them for long!”
Suddenly, Cadance jumped out of the housekeeping cart and stood defensively between the five young mares and the pursuing guards who immediately stopped in their tracks when they saw her.
“Go girls,” Cadance commanded the five friends. “The library is just down the left hallway!”
“But darling, what about you?” Rarity asked concerned for pink alicorn’s safety.
“I’ll be fine. Just go!” Cadance assured them.
Reluctantly, the five ponies did as she said and headed down the left hallway leaving Cadance to fend off the guards by herself.

Back in the library, Spike was searching on the second story and had found no sign of Twilight anywhere. Then when he peeked behind a bookshelf he finally saw her, his beloved mistress, sitting at a library table and reading a book with a glum expression on her face. She hadn’t noticed him, but before he was about to call to her, he stopped himself and walked over to the railing at the edge of the floor. He looked down and saw Celestia and Shining looking between some bookshelves at the bottom floor. When he saw that they noticed him, he quietly waved for them to come up to the level he was on. Celestia spread her wings and began to hover up to where Spike was while using her magic to levitate Shining up with her. When they both reached the area where Spike was, they both saw Twilight still sitting at the table reading her book. Shining Armor was the first to slowly and quietly approach her.
“Twily?” he gently said. Twilight’s concentration was broken by the sound of his voice and she slowly turned around to find him. When she saw her big brother, her mentor, and her assistant standing before her, her eyes went wide with surprise.
“Shining, is it really you?” she asked her brother.
“Yes kid, it’s me,” he warmly replied with tears of joy streaming from his eyes. He quickly walked over and pulled his sister into a big hug. He had failed to notice that she was too shocked to hug him back. When he released her, she began asking questions.
“What are you all doing here?” Twilight asked curiously.
“We came here to protect you, my student,” Celestia answered her in a warm and motherly tone.
“From what?”
“We heard rumors that some changelings might’ve escaped and that one of them might be impersonating Jewelius,” Spike explained.
“No, that’s not true,” a confused Twilight argued. “I’ve spent some time with him, he’s not a changeling.”
“Twilight, I know what I heard,” Spike assured her.
“I don’t know what you might’ve heard, but Jewelius is no changeling.”
Then suddenly, they all heard the doors to the library open and slam shut. They all ran down to find Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack holding the doors closed and panting heavily. Then they all turned around to see their beloved unicorn friend standing before them.
“TWILIGHT!” they all said with joy.
“How did you all sneak into the castle?” Twilight asked astonished.
“We can explain that later,” Rainbow said. “Right now, we’ve all gotta find a way out of this place.”
“There are changelings running loose in the castle, darling,” Rarity told her.
“No they’re not!” Twilight said with absolute certainty. “I’m telling you they aren’t!”

Back in the hallway, Cadance was still holding off the guards with her glowing horn.
“Former Princess Cadance,” Hildread addressed her. “Please lower your horn, there is no need for any hostility.”
“Keep back!” Cadance commanded and started walking backwards while keeping her eyes on Hildread and the guards. “I don’t want any harm to come to those fillies!”
As she backed into the hallway behind her, Hildread put a sinister grin on her face as if expecting something horrible to happen. Noticing this, Cadance turned to her left and noticed something that made her eyes widen with surprise.
“YOU!” she said in complete shock.

Back in the library, Twilight was still arguing with the others about the rumors they heard.
“I’m telling you all, there are no changelings running loose in Canterlot!” Twilight said starting to get annoyed. “They’ve all been captured.”
“And we’re telling you, that’s what we heard!” Rainbow argued sounding equally annoyed.
“Hildread didn’t say all that stuff for nothing,” Spike said.
“What do you think, Celestia?” Shining asked the former princess.
“I’m not sure anymore,” Celestia replied with a concerned look on her face. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
“You should get out of here,” Twilight said causing everyone to gasp. “If you get caught, there’s no telling what kind of trouble you could all get into.”
“Come on, Twilight,” Pinkie said putting on a friendly smile. “We’re your friends. We didn’t gather up your BBBFF, your old foalsitter, your teacher, your dragon assistant, and all your friends just to leave you to fall victim to some dangerous, evil plot.”
“Wait,” Twilight interrupted. “Where’s Cadance?”
Then they all heard a blast of magic and a scream of agony coming from outside the library doors. Instantly, they all filled with fear.
“Cadance!” both Twilight and Shining shouted in fear and bolted to the doors. Twilight was the first to go through the doors and to her horror, she found her beloved foalsitter lying on the floor with her eyes closed and a black blast injury on her chest. A guard was beside her examining her body.
“She’s been hurt bad,” the guard said. “She needs to be taken to the medical wing immediately.”
Instantly, two medical ponies with a stretcher appeared. Twilight watched in horror as they set the stretcher down next to Cadance, put her body on it, picked her up, and took off down the hall. Twilight stared after them with tears streaming from her eyes.
“An accident happened,” Hildread told the young unicorn with a sad look on her face. “She was acting hostile, and then…” She couldn’t bring herself to finish her sentence.
Behind Twilight, her brother, Spike, the five, and Celestia had witnessed the whole thing and they looked just as horrified. 
“Cadance!” Shining said in horrific shock. His beloved special somepony had been terribly injured.
“How could you have let her be put in danger?” Twilight tearfully asked the group. “Hasn’t she been through enough already?”
“Twilight, we didn’t know what would happen,” Celestia said in an attempt to calm and comfort her student. But this proved useless, as Twilight just got extremely angry.
“Yes, you didn’t know,” a tearful Twilight responded with venom in her voice. The group of eight were taken back by the hostility the young unicorn suddenly showed. “Just like you didn’t know about the bad behavior she was showing during the planning for the wedding! Just like you didn’t know about the strange spells she was constantly casting on my brother, which obviously weren’t headache healing spells!” she said glaring at her brother. “Just like you didn’t know what that display of crocodile tears at the rehearsal was meant to do! Just like you didn’t know she was imprisoning ponies who were becoming obstacles in her plan in the caverns underneath the castle, like me! And just like you didn’t know that she was the EVIL queen of an army of shapeshifting insect like monsters bent on devouring all the love in Equestria! Well, I know one place that they won’t be able to find any real love!”
Twilight’s words cut like rusty ridged-edged blades. They could all tell by the look on her face and in her eyes that she was suffering greatly. She’d probably been suffering ever since they turned their backs on her at the wedding rehearsal. And now the fact that her parents have gone missing and her favorite foalsitter has been injured had made it even worse.
“Twily, I-” Shining attempted to speak to her, but she cut him off.
“You know, King Jewelius was going to let her back into the kingdom. It would’ve been easy and nopony would’ve gotten hurt. But you all had to follow your own selfish instincts and mess everything up again! Well no more!” Then she cast a spell and sealed the eight former loved ones in an impenetrable pink dome. 
“Twilight, please don’t do this!” AJ pleaded.
“We’re your friends!” Fluttershy tearfully said.
“No you’re not!” Twilight angrily retorted causing the five ponies to gasp in shock. “You only hangout with me because my connections could help you. You never cared about me or anypony else! I can’t believe I fell for it for so long.”
“Twily-” Shining desperately cried out to his sister.
“And you can forget about me calling you my BBBFF anymore! In fact, I don’t even have a brother,” Twilight coldly said turning her back on Shining. The once proud Captain of the Guard was now reduced to a pile of misery and regret. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go check on the princess,” she said walking away and ignoring the sad and heartbroken faces the ponies she once called her friends had.
“Twilight, I-” Celestia attempted to speak to her student.
“You have a lot to think about,” Twilight coldly told her not even bothering to look at her.
Celestia’s once proud spirit was now broken. Her own beloved student had turned on her. And it was her own fault.
As Twilight walked sobbing down the hallway toward the medical wing, Hildread dropped the sad expression she had and replaced it with a more satisfied and sadistic one.
“My, my, my,” came an approaching voice from behind Hildread and the guards. They stood aside to reveal Jewelius who was accompanied by his assistant Vivian. “You’ve broken into my home and gone and upset my dear student, shame on all of you,” he mocked the captured exiles with a cruel smile on his face.
“I’m sorry,” Shining tearfully apologized.
“You will be!” Jewelius replied with a face that promised evil. Then he burst into wicked laughter that echoed throughout the hall.