//------------------------------//
// The Realization of Friends 
// Story: The Canterlot Healing Process 
// by twilightsparkle3562 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 2

"The Realization of Friends"

As Twilight's friends heard Cadence leave Princess Celestia and Shining Armor alone in the throne room, they all could not help but wonder why they didn't listen to Twilight when it mattered most. They had always been there for her and she had always been there for them. But, they all had a lot to think about over the recent events that had just taken place. They all had a large amount of guilt to share and even though they were wearing bridesmaid dresses, they certain didn't feel like bridesmaids and that their wedding party felt incomplete in a sense.  After all, they were just as guilty as Shining Armor and Princess Celestia.  They made the error of putting their excitement for this moment over their friends concerns.

"You know, I couldn't help but ask," said Rainbow Dash solemnly, as she watched the repairs on Canterlot from the window of the Bridal Suite. "Did we really get too fixated on the wedding to notice anything was wrong with Cadence?"

"What'd you think Rainbow?" said Applejack, looking at herself in the mirror. "You heard what the changeling queen said, we were indeed focused so much on the wedding to notice anything was wrong and as a result we not only put Canterlot at risk, but we also may have damaged our relationship with Twilight."

"Some friends we are," grumbled Pinkie Pie, already thinking of how to apologize to Twilight. "I am going to have to throw her a super duper apologizing party when we get back to Ponyville.  Trust me, it'll be just like her first night in the library."

This didn't sit well with Fluttershy, who was letting one of her songbirds fly through the room.  It was the same one that Chrysalis had yelled at during one of their rehearsals a few days before.  However, after everything was all said and done, she didn't feel like conducting the music, let alone help Pinkie Pie throw one of her parties.

"I'm afraid a simple party won't fully heal everything that has happened, Pinkie Pie," said Fluttershy sadly as the bird fell back on her hoof. "You saw what happened at the rehearsal."

"That's true," replied Pinkie Pie, realizing her dilemma. "Shoot."

"Well," said Rarity, who was inspecting her crown that she wore on her head. "Maybe we just start listening to Twilight from now on so that circumstances of this nature don't have to happen again. After all, we went through a similar matter before."

Those words had begun to bring back memories of when Twilight had gone crazy over an overdue friendship letter to Princess Celestia.  Twilight had gotten so frantic that she cast a "Want-It Need-It Spell" on her Smarty Pants doll that resulted in all of Ponyville being descended in Chaos.

"That's right," added Rainbow Dash, realizing what Rarity was talking about. "Didn't she have a mental breakdown over a lost friendship letter a while back?"

"She did, y'all," said Applejack, who stared blankly at her fellow ponies. "And we brushed it off thinking that Twilight was getting all trussled up over nothing. It wasn't until Princess Celestia appeared all angry that we realized until too late that Twilight was indeed all worked up over something."

"We all learned a lesson that day, didn't we?" continued Rarity. "We learned to not take a friend's worries lightly and that we have to stop and listen so that they didn't become an even bigger problem."

"Hey, doesn't that also remind you all of something?" said Pinkie Pie, who was also beginning to think back to the Parasprite Invasion on Ponyville. "Something very similar that happened to me and the parasprite invasion on Ponyville."

The other ponies remembered that event as well, as Pinkie had tried to persuade them to find instruments that she would use to lure them out of Ponyville.  They didn't believe her at first, but it was only then did they see her with all the instruments that they realized their error.  

"Yes, that's true Pinkie," replied Applejack, who was also beginning to think of another event that Twilight went bananas over. "But didn't anyone else remember another time that Twilight was all worked up over nothing, considering a disaster that never happened."

Now, the ponies were thinking about the time that Twilight was fretting over a disaster that she thought was going to happen, but never did.  It later got to a point where Twilight had to use a time travel spell to warn her own self to not worry about the future.

"Yes, I did remember that," said Pinkie Pie. "We snuck into Canterlot and Spike kept on eating Ice Cream until he got a stomachache. Twilight sure did go loco in the coco that time."

But, then a strange thought came into Pinkie and her tail suddenly went twitchy as evident by her bridesmaid dress shaking.  Her Pinkie Sense was acting up and Rarity did not want one of her already fine works to be ruined.

"Careful, Pinkie," cautioned Rarity, as she used a spell to keep Pinkie from moving. "I don't want your dress getting more damaged than it already has."

"I know that, Rarity," said Pinkie Pie, who suddenly stopped shaking thanks to the spell. "I just had the thought that maybe the impending disaster was in fact the Changeling Invasion on Canterlot."

"How do you know that, Pinkie?" asked Applejack, walking over and raising an eyebrow at her. "Do you have any proof of that?"

"No," she replied, seemingly innocent about it. "I just had the thought and it crossed through my mind."

"Well, proof or no proof," said Rainbow Dash dejectedly. "Twilight was trying to warn us that something about Princess Cadence was off and we ignored it. Instead, we just focused on our individual tasks that we needed to complete for the wedding."

This was a mistake that they all had made on Twilight.   Up until this moment, Twilight had been for them as much as they had been there for her.  But, when she needed them the most, they turned their backs on her.

"I just don't know how she is going to react when we confess what we were seeing in here at the rehearsal," said Fluttershy, trying to not let her emotions get the best of her. "Especially after all she has done for us."

"Twilight did say we were all fooled," added Rarity. "I would think that message was already across to us all when we were held captive in the wedding hall."

"I know," said Fluttershy dejectedly. "I just feel like there is something about our behavior that will make Twilight see things differently than they already are."

"In what way is that, Fluttershy?" asked Applejack. "What makes you think Twilight will see things differently in us?"

"Well, we were acting like the opposites of our elements of harmony again," replied Fluttershy. "To Twilight, this all makes her think that we were all behaving like the time Discord was here."

"You are absolutely right, Fluttershy," said Rainbow Dash. "We were acting like the opposites of our elements again and Discord wasn't even involved in all of this. It was our doing and our doing alone."

"Do you think our relationship with Twilight will never be the same again?" asked Fluttershy, a small tear trickling down her face. "She helped us out once and that I am worried that she will never help us out of situations like this ever again."

"Aw, Sugarcube," comforted Applejack, coming over to console her friend by placing her hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "You know Twilight would not go that far. She cares too deeply about us to even think about going that far."

"But what if she did, Applejack?" cried Rainbow Dash, starting to sound desperate. "Our behavior was just terrible, you know that. I mean we walked out on her when she was truly right, even Princess Celestia walked out on her and we all share responsibility for what we did."

All of the ponies were now starting to feel the agony come to them and Applejack had to be the strong willed mare in the room at that moment.  

"Now listen, y'all," said Applejack now level headed, trying to calm them down. "For the last time, Twilight said it wasn't our fault and the Changelings fooled us all. What is more important right now is that Twilight is with us in the wedding again."

"Yeah," said Pinkie Pie, leaping about the room excitedly. "After all she has done for us; we all would like nothing more than to have our Twilight back. This wedding wouldn't be the same without her."

Then, Rarity had to spoil the anticipation when she remembered that it had to be Twilight's own brother to make the final call on her being in the wedding.  

"Now, remember," said Rarity, stopping Pinkie Pie in her tracks once again with her magic. "It has to be Shining Armor to bring her back in. He was the one who threw Twilight out of the wedding in the first place."

This did not bode well with the other ponies as they each began to get into more and more despair.  Rainbow Dash was dejected and worried over the fact that she had become like Gilda the Griffon, who had disowned her as a friend for not being cool like her.  She was also an aspiring Wonderbolt and she had always learned that the code of the Wonderbolt was to never leave a friend behind.

It seems now that particular code was not being followed, thanks to her.

"You're right," sighed Rainbow Dash, her hopes being dashed. "It does have to be him that makes the final call and that is something we all have to wait for to happen."

"I just hope after all that has happened," said Applejack, wanting all of this put to bed as much as everyone else in Canterlot. "Shining Armor makes the right call and we can move on with our friend as his Best Mare again."

Unbeknownst to them however, Shining Armor was overhearing what was going on and left to resume his royal guard duties, taking in what he had just heard Twilight's friends say to each other.

In his mind, at least, he knew that in the end, the only one who could repair what happened at the rehearsal was himself and himself alone. So, he went back and knocked on the door of the bridal suite and Rarity opened the door.

"Oh, Shining Armor," she gasped, upon seeing him at the door. "What can we do for you?"

"There is something I need you all to do something for me," he said.

So he went on to tell his sister's friends of his decision to save his wedding to the love of his life and return the one pony who meant so much to them all back where she belonged on his big day.