//------------------------------//
// Interlude 3 
// Story: Wedding Bells Bug Hunt 
// by Trinary 
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Nothing made sense anymore. That was the main thought running through Twilight Sparkle’s mind as she galloped homewards. The awful scene of Rainbow Dash—or the changeling masquerading as Rainbow, Twilight forced herself to remember—being dragged away in chains threatened to overwhelm her. Even though she had noted various actions by ‘Rainbow’ that seemed suspicious, she still struggled to reconcile with the idea that her friend had been replaced by a duplicate. Her mind had been thrown into a tizzy with questions.
 
But answers eluded her as she wracked her brain to assess the few facts she did have. Rainbow Dash has been certainly acting strange lately, she thought to herself. And it started right after we arrived—when she showed up with all those bruises. After that, she was hesitant and awkward around me and the others. Plus, she ruefully noted, Rainbow had been unusually diligent in checking up on how everypony’s tasks for the wedding were going. Normally Dash would’ve just let Twilight handle that aspect while she’d spend her time practicing her Sonic Rainboom, trying to get it just right for Cadance and Shining Armor.
 
Couple that with the fact that she’s barely spoken to either one of them, despite how close they all are, and that she hasn’t shown any signs typically associated with seeing one’s crush marry somepony does suggest that she had been replaced not long after we arrived in Canterlot.
 
Something nagged at her mind, not letting her just accept the conclusion she’d laid out. What am I overlooking? She wondered. The facts fit the case the Princess presented to us that Rainbow Dash has been replaced by a changeling infiltrator, one so accurate that it can perfectly duplicate her memory, mannerisms and appearance.
 
But if these changelings can imitate a pony so flawlessly that even they believe themselves to be ponies, then why would there have been any strange behaviors at all? Wouldn’t they be acting so perfectly that there wouldn’t have been any tipoff? Twilight chewed her lip. So the fact that Rainbow wasn’t acting exactly like herself could be evidence that she actually is herself, except that—

“GRAAAH!” Twilight suddenly yelled, startling several passerbys. “I need more evidence!”
 
Well, she thought to herself. Princess Celestia is one of the only ponies who knows anything about changelings and she’s sure that Rainbow was one.
 
She had briefly considered the possibility that the Princess had been replaced, but rejected it. The idea that a changeling could physically defeat Princess Celestia was hard enough to imagine on the face off it. The other evidence was even harder to ignore … and she was staring at it beginning to set.
 
A changeling might be able to imitate a pony’s special talent in order to blend in better. But there’s no being capable of raising and setting the sun like Princess Celestia, except maybe for Princess Luna. So I have to assume that Princess Celestia is herself and is correct about Rainbow.
 
But then why do I feel like that’s not the end of it? Twilight groaned. As much as she wanted to just put her trust in the Princess, her own observations gave her enough reason to pause. Who do I believe now? Rainbow Dash or the Princess? This was doubly difficult for Twilight. She had always put her trust in strong, confident ponies like the Princess or Rainbow Dash. But now one of them was wrong and there weren’t enough facts to prove conclusively which one it was.
 
There just weren’t enough facts. A gnawing sensation in her stomach filled her with unease. How could she figure out what to do if she didn’t have enough information? The urge to make sure her family was safe was interfering with her ability to think. That was when she decided to head home.
 
Twilight ran home as fast as she could, ignoring the odd looks she got after a few near collisions. Flinging open the front door with her magic, she burst in, panting. “Shining Armor? Mom? Dad?”
 
For an awful moment she worried that she was too late. Then she heard Cadance’s voice. “In here!” 

Twilight let out the breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. “Cadance!” Twilight trotted in to see her parents, Shining Armor and Cadance sitting around the dinner table. “You’re here? But your wedding is tomorrow!”
 
The Princess of the Crystal Empire chuckled and shook her head. “Yes, yes I know … but honestly? It’s such a silly tradition, the bride and groom not seeing each other before the wedding. Besides,” she smiled slyly. “I never could say no to dinner with your parents. They’re the best chefs I know.”
 
“Flatterer,” Twilight’s mother, Twilight Velvet, smiled warmly. “I wish you had told me that you were coming Twilight, I’d have set an extra spot for you.”
 
“You look like you hurried over.” Night Light said, looking at Twilight. “Everything all right?”
 
Twilight wanted to tell them. She wanted so badly to get somepony else’s view—especially since she didn’t trust her own. But the Princess had given her an order.
 




“It is vital that we do not give Queen Chrysalis any indication that we are aware of her plot—or that we have uncovered her agent,” Princess Celestia had told them. “I need you all to carry on as if everything was normal, until the wedding.”
 
“But what about Rainbow Dash?” Applejack had protested. “We cain’t just forget about her!”
 
Rarity nodded briskly. “We have to start looking for her!”
 
The Princess raised her hoof in a calming gesture. “I know that you’re worried for her. I’m worried for my student too. I’ll dispatch my most trustworthy and capable guards to spearhead the search. But that is not your task.” She looked around. “I know this is very difficult for you all, but I must ask you to keep what has transpired here to yourselves, at least until we can determine who else we can or cannot trust.”
 
“I advise you all to take some time for yourselves, in order to better come to grips with what’s happened.”




 
“It’s—it’s nothing. Just some pre-wedding jitters! Aheh heh.” Twilight gave them all her biggest, widest smile.
 
Shining Armor raised an eyebrow. “Um, Twily? You’re not the one getting married.”
 
“I know that! You can still have pre-wedding jitters even if it isn’t your wedding! There’s no law against it!” Her eyes darted this way and that, her smile still plastered on.
 
Cadance stood and made her way over. “Twilight, I’m sure you’re worrying over nothing.” She gave her a comforting nuzzle. “We know that you’ve worked your hardest to make sure everything comes off tomorrow. Our wedding couldn’t be in better hooves.”
 
“Absolutely.” Shining nodded.
 
Twilight sighed, leaning into Cadance’s embrace for comfort. “Can I…talk to you and Shining Armor for a minute? Alone?”
 
Her parents exchanged a quick glance. “We’ll just take care of some last minute table settings,” her mother quickly offered. “Won’t be but a minute! Come along dear…”
 
As soon as they were gone, Twilight turned to Cadance and Shining Armor. “Thank you … I, I don’t even know where to start.”
 
“Relax, it’s all right.” Cadance held her close. “Feeling anxious?”
 
“I’m just sorry I haven’t managed to spend more time with you and Shining Armor,” Twilight leaned against her.
 
Cadance chuckled. “It’s all right. Planning a royal wedding is a pretty big job, and we’re both very grateful to you and your friends for all your help.” She draped a leg across Twilight’s shoulders and hugged her close. “Besides, we’re going to be sisters-in-law! We’ll have all the time in the world together once everything is settled.”
 
Twilight managed a small smile. “I—I always did want a sister to talk to.” She bit her lip. “And now’s probably a good time to start.” She took a deep breath. “I have something to tell you. Both of you.” Twilight swallowed nervously. “I’m—I’m not even supposed to say anything. The Princess—”
 
“Twily…” Shining Armor put a hoof on her shoulder. “If Princess Celestia told you not to say anything, then you should respect her wishes.”
 
“This is too important!” Twilight urged. “Something—something bad is going to happen at your wedding! There are these creatures, changelings, that plan to do—something, but we don’t know what!”
 
Cadance held up a hoof. “Whoa, Twilight whoa! Calm down. What’s this all about?”
 
Without any further prompting, Twilight began to explain everything that had happened: the strange goings on, the explanation from Princess Celestia … everything except that one of her friends was the prime suspect and that Rainbow Dash had been replaced, and her imposter in the dungeon. Possibly. She didn’t want to burden them with the knowledge and she didn’t know if she could present the few facts she had dispassionately.
 
Shining Armor looked gobsmacked. “This is…Twily are you sure? The Princess told you all this? This isn’t like that time you read that philosophy book and ran and panicking because you weren't sure what was real anymore.”
 
“No, Shining this is real!” Twilight looked from him to Cadance and back again. “This is big and I don’t know what to do!”
 
Cadance also looked troubled. “I can't believe Celestia didn't tell me anything about this!”

“I'm sure she has her reasons, Cadance.” Shining Armor offered, trying to calm her down. “Twilight said she was worried tipping the changelings off. The only ponies who know are the ones who need to know.”

“I think we need to know if our wedding is going to be attacked!” Cadance huffed, her face darkening. 

Shining put a calming hoof on her shoulder. “I'm not happy about being left out of the loop either, but what can we do?”

His tone was clearly rhetorical, but Cadance’s answer was anything but. “I'll tell you what I'm going to do,” she whirled around and marched towards the door. “Go right up to the palace and give her a piece of my mind!”

The two siblings shared matching expressions of horror. “But ... but she's the princess!” Shining sputtered.

“So am I, and this is my wedding!” Cadance emphasized as she looked back, her cheeks flushed with indignation.

“But--that'll mean she knew I told!” Twilight’s hooves anxiously darted up and down on the floor. She might have decided to violate the Princess’ orders not to tell anypony else, but that didn’t mean she wanted to wave it around in her face.

Seeing Cadance hesitate, Shining pressed on. “And it's already dark out. She might already be asleep.”

Cadance sighed and took a deep breath. “All right … If Luna was here I’d go talk to her. But I’m definitely going to have a word with Aunt Celestia tomorrow.” She gave Twilight a comforting smile. “I won’t tell her how I found out, so don’t worry.”

Twilight couldn’t help but wonder how that talk would go. Would Princess Celestia make Cadance understand the reasons why she’d been keeping everything so low key? Would Cadance be able to convince her to try something different? She winced at the thought of Celestia telling Cadance about the false Rainbow Dash and not hearing it from her. But she just … she couldn’t tell them. She couldn’t explain it to herself, so how could she hope to explain it to her brother and future sister-in-law?

She couldn’t. That made her think of something a wise pony had once said, ‘If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.’ That thought weighed heavily on her mind as she bid them and her parents goodnight. 
 
Night had fallen by the time Twilight stepped out of the house. She stared up at the castle, deep in thought. I need to figure this out before the wedding, but I also need more information. She shut her eyes and concentrated. With a sudden flash she vanished from the spot and reappeared inside the castle. The corridors were dark and she kept to the shadows. 
 
It occurred to her that what she was doing--sneaking around the castle, planning to break into the dungeon to see a prisoner--could land her in some serious trouble. Twilight gulped nervously as she realized just how much trouble she could land in. This was all highly illegal.

She bit her lip and did her best to blend into the wall. This wasn’t like her. I’m not a rule breaker! I’m not some rebel without a cause who likes to sneak around. What am I even doing? This is something Rainbow Dash would do--not me! Except Rainbow Dash wasn’t here. And the only one who knew where she was was down in the dungeon. ...This is something Rainbow Dash would do for me. Since she’s not here--I guess I’ll have to bend the rules a bit this time.

As she made a sharp turn Twilight found herself bumping against something solid. Falling back on her rear with a yelp, she heard a grunt. Fearing that she had just bumped into a guard Twilight let out a panicked squeak. “I was just looking for the library! Please don’t throw me in jail!”

“Twilight?”

She blinked at the familiar voice. “Applejack?” Looking around she saw the rest of her friends gathered around. “Girls? What’re you doing here?”

“Same thing as you, Ah’d guess.” Applejack nodded to her. “Lookin’ fer some answers.”

Pinkie Pie tilted the brim of her fedora upwards. “The time’s come to pull back the curtain of lies and see the stark naked truth revealed as--”

“Pinkie could you kindly stop narrating?” Rarity huffed. “I didn’t particularly care for having you attempting to interrogate me in the shower in the first place, much less keep reminding me of it.” She looked to Twilight. “We all had some time to think about what happened earlier and, well, we’re not sure,” she confessed. “If the Princess is right, if that was or wasn’t our Rainbow Dash and--”

“I understand,” Twilight sagged in relief, glad to know she wasn’t the only one who harbored doubts. “That’s why I’m here too. I want to talk to her. It.” Her ear flicked in annoyance.

Fluttershy hesitantly spoke up. “But, how do we get down there without the guards seeing us?”

“Three words,” Pinkie spoke up, suddenly holding a large cardboard box over her head. “In. cog. nito.”

Twilight facehooved. “That’s only one word. Anyway, I have a different idea.” Her horn began to glow. A tingling sensation, akin to having one’s hoof fall asleep, crept up her body as she slowly vanished from sight. “How do I look?”

Rarity cleared her throat. “You, um … don’t.”

“Perfect.” Twilight quickly looked herself over, making sure she didn’t miss any part of herself. Would be hard to sneak past the guards if her rump was still visible. Also extremely embarrassing. “I’ll cast the spell on the rest of you and then we’ll have to quietly make our way by the guards.”

After a quick round of nods, Twilight turned the rest of her friends invisible as well. With a muffled shush as her only instruction, she led her friends past the guards standing at the top of the stairwell leading down into the dungeon. The answers were down there. The only question was, just what those answers would be and whether or not she liked what she would discover...