//------------------------------//
// Interlude II: Suspicions 
// Story: A Somber Tale: FIENDship is Magic 
// by Maltrazz 
//------------------------------//

Luna paced anxiously from one side of the Canterlot throne room to the other. "Where is she?"

"I'm sure Cadance will arrive as quickly as she can," Celestia said, in an effort to comfort her sister. "Although, with things resolved in the other reality, I fail to see what the emergency is."

"Well, perhaps if you spent a little more time in the world you're responsible for, and a little less time wooing some stallion, then I wouldn't have to spell it out for you," Luna shot back with a scowl.

Celestia frowned, but held back her retort. Moments later, Cadance rushed into the room.

"I came as quickly as I could," she said, clearly out of breath. "What's going on?"

Luna remained silent, simply gesturing for the guards to leave the room. Once they had done so, she spoke, her tone low and serious. "What I have to say concerns one Twilight Sparkle, and the new addition to her life, the stallion calling himself 'Black Knight'."

Celestia sighed in exasperation. "We have been over this, Sister," she said. "I admit that the resemblance is uncanny, but his behavior is completely different from that of King Sombra. He even aided us in the defense of Canterlot. Besides, I detected no trace of Dark Magic in him when we first met."

"Not to mention he and Twilight spent a night in the Crystal Empire without causing any trouble," Cadance added. "Shining Armor even insisted on posting extra guards around the Crystal Heart, and none of them reported even seeing either of them."

"So, nothing strange at all happened that night?" Luna asked the younger princess, a shadow of uncertainty entering her expression.

Cadance frowned, hesitating a moment before answering. "Well, one of the guards in the throne room went missing, and the other seems to have fallen into a coma, but nothing seems to have been disturbed in either the throne room or Sombra's study beneath it, as far as we can tell. If Sombra really had returned and was controlling my sister-in-law, wouldn't he have gone after the artifact capable of defeating him, rather than risk exposure spiriting away a single guard?"

"You seem to misunderstand," Luna said, looking more certain than ever. "I do not think that Sombra is the one in control, at all." Calling upon her magic, she summoned up a scroll and held it out to her sister.

Unrolling it, Celestia looked over what was written on it, her expression growing dark. "A Memory Stealing spell? Luna, where did you find this?"

"In the Starswirl the Bearded Wing of the Royal Library," Luna replied. "Normally, access to it is restricted due to it containing such dangerous spells as this. However, I believe Twilight had access to it as your personal student."

"Luna, what are you suggesting?" Cadance asked, not liking where the conversation seemed to be heading.

"I will suggest no longer, but rather state it openly," Luna declared. "I believe that Sombra somehow survived his most recent defeat, despite his apparent death, and that Twilight Sparkle discovered him. I believe that she was unwilling to pass up new magic, and stole his knowledge of Dark Magic for herself, replacing his memories with ones that would ensure his loyalty to her. Given how quickly she has learned to wield it, this is the only course of events that makes sense to me, short of her having both prodigious ability and a willing teacher."

"But... But this is Twilight!" Cadance protested. "She would never do something like that!"

"I'm sorry, Cadance, but I never believed Twilight would turn to Dark Magic, either," Celestia said. "Given recent... personal distractions, it would seem my sister had a clearer view of events than I. As much as it pains me to say it, it would seem that we have to accept that none of us knew Twilight Sparkle as well as we thought."

"I... This must be a misunderstanding," Cadance replied, unwilling to believe that the filly she had once watched over could have became some scheming villain. "There has to be some other explanation!"

"In this instance, I would love nothing more than to be proven incorrect," Luna said. "However, we do not have time for uncertainty. We must address the situation, and quickly."

"While I agree that this is worrying, I fail to see the need for such haste. Recklessness only leads to mistakes, after all," Celestia cautioned. Grimacing, she added, "Especially where King Sombra is concerned."

Luna winced at the memory of that harshly learned lesson, and the events that occurred because of it. "Because, if we leave this situation as it stands, we may have to face multiple threats at once." Her expression darkened as she explained, "The Nightmare Forces are soon to return..."

Celestia gasped, finally grasping just how bad the situation could get. "If Twilight becomes corrupted by them, with her new knowledge of Dark Magic..."

"...Then we may have no choice but to deal with her by force, before she follows in Sombra's hoofsteps as a tyrant," Luna finished.

"I refuse to let that happen!" Cadance cut in. "We have to find out the truth. There might be a perfectly innocent explanation. Twilight said she learned Dark Magic from a book Sombra left behind, right? If we show up without giving her time to prepare, and she can show us the book, that would prove that it's just a coincidence, wouldn't it?"

The Two Sisters exchanged a skeptical glance. "...It would certainly be a point in her favor," Luna conceded.

"Then we shall resolve this tonight!" Celestia declared, heading towards a balcony and spreading her wings. "Twilight will have just recently returned from dealing with Sunset Shimmer. Now will be the best time to catch her off-guard if she has turned evil. If not, than she will surely understand our need for caution in such matters."

The other two alicorns nodded in agreement, each expecting a different outcome, but both determined to see the matter resolved as quickly as possible.

However, the entirety of what was awaiting in Ponyville and in the days to come was not foreseen by any of them.