"Hey Sugar Cube," Applejack says as she pushes in through the door, a patronizing look on her face.

"Oh, great." I say, my own face contorting into a grimace. Princess Celestia probably figured I wouldn't go without a fight.

"Hey now, Twi, we're just tryin' ta help." Applejack actually looks hurt when she sees that I'm still bristling, consciously readying myself for a fight.

I snort. If I was going to use magic, it would be easy. Even if Big Mac looks murderous. I glance over my shoulder at him as he trots into the room, my eyes flicking to the dirt shaking off his hooves into my precious library. He follows my gaze and then narrows his eyes at me, his tail flicking impatiently. Naturally, he says nothing, but the look he is giving me is a warning.

Frowning, I turn back to Applejack. "Yeah, well, I don't care if it's a royal decree. I'd rather die than stop using magic!" My eyes squint shut as I attempt channeling enough power to make the Apples disappear from my library. A few seconds pass. Nothing is coming. Big Mac and Applejack just stare at me, confused, just as I am. Not a few minutes ago, magic was mine to control. Now, I can't even get my horn to glow.

I try again. This time, I hold my breath and squint, trying and trying until my cheeks are flushed and tears are stinging my eyes. I don't understand what is happening. My magic is gone, but somehow I know it's the work of the Princess. I bite back tears as I come to the realization that this is my fate. Sweet Apple Acres, banished from Ponyville's library. Well, if I can't use magic, I can still fight my fate. Celestia was right. I certainly won't be going down without a fight.

I rear up on my hind legs, kicking my front hooves at the ponies I used to consider friends. I make a mad dash for the door, managing to get past Big Mac.

It's over before it even begins. Big Mac tosses Applejack a lasso, and it's around me before I can say 'Starswirl'. Between the two of them, I can tell that they came to subdue me rather than walk me to my fate. Big Mac takes the end of the lasso between his teeth and drags me outside.

I'm still fuming as Applejack forces a strong looking branch under the rope that now binds my hooves together. Eventually, I'm hoisted up by both of them, the branch riding on their backs, with me, upside down, hung like a sacrificial pig to be roasted on an open flame.

"Oh, ponyfeathers," I say as we pass Sugar Cube Corner and Carousel Boutique, making a loop around the entirety of Ponyville. They aren't taking me directly to the orchard, either. I mumble a string of profanities at them. They are parading me around town to make sure that everypony gets a good look at me. Rebel, hermit, loner. Punished.

By this time, I've given up mumbling. I might as well milk it for all it's worth. My voice is hoarse by the time that we actually arrive at the Acres, due to the screaming I was doing on the way. Halfway through Town Square, Mac shoves an apple in my mouth, shutting me up, but making me look all the more like a roasting pig. All the way, Applejack refused to look at me, although Mac seemed to be enjoying watching me getting what was coming to me.

Once they reached the barn, Applejack set her end of the branch down, Mac bucking his end, so that I landed on my side on a patch of hay. Still refusing to look at me, Applejack unties me and throws the branch off to the side. I rip the apple out of my mouth, spitting the taste out of my mouth. "What in Ponyville was all that about, then?" I demand, my voice at least one octave lower than normal, due to the constant screaming.

Applejack evades my gaze as she kicks at the ground. For some reason, there's shame and guilt written all over her face. She's not saying anything, and it makes me uneasy. It's even worse than watching her attempt to lie. This is something she doesn't even want to talk about. Honest Applejack, not wanting to break the truth to me.

I'm so disturbed by Applejack that I don't even notice Apple Bloom joining us. I had never really paid much attention to her, although she has grown since I last remember seeing her. She's probably just leaving her pre-teen phase; she's not quite full size yet, but she's lost the tell-tale bow. Her mane is swept to the side, and curled, reminding me a lot of Rarity's old style. And there, on her flank, is her cutie mark... but there's something weird about it. It's a single, blood-red apple. Normal, for a family of Apples, I guess, asides from the thin film covering the middle of the apple. It looks a bit like it's been recently painted over to hide something.

Apple Bloom trots toward me, her manicured hooves shining in the light of the barn. I'm even more confused as she comes further toward me, then stops a few feet short of me. She sits on her haunches and looks at me, a disapproving look in her eyes, her lips turned down in a slight frown. After a while, she speaks.

"Ok Twilight, I bet you're wondering why you're here." She says, her tone scarily familiar to Rarity's.

I raise my eyebrow at her. "No, not really. It was a pretty straightforward letter."

Amused by my answer, Apple Bloom cackles, high-pitched and fake. "See, Mac, I told you she would think it was a real letter!" Once she's finished giggling, she shakes her head at me as if she were speaking to a child. "Really, Twilight, I thought you were smarter than that! Given your freakishly big head, and all. No, actually, Princess Celestia has nothing to do with it. Actually, she thinks you want nothing to do with magic anymore. We sent her a letter for you, telling her you were going to give up magic and live with Zecora, and that you hated her. Bla bla bla." Apple Bloom waves her hoof at me dismissively.

"What?" I say, hardly daring to believe that this is actually happening. Was I just... kidnapped in broad daylight? Even if that's true, what in Celestia's name does any of this have to do with anything? Maybe hanging upside down for so long has damaged my brain in some way. I stare at Apple Bloom, my eyes furrowed as I try to make sense of it.

"Come on, Twilight, it shouldn't be hard to follow. Then again, Princess Luna did say that you might be a little slow on the uptake." She folds one leg over the other, brushing her hair to the other side of her shoulders. "We forged that letter. Applejack is actually pretty good at it, would you believe?" She cackles again.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Applejack flinch as she is drawn into the conversation at hand. She knows something - knew something - and isn't telling me what's going on. I was right to be apprehensive of the situation when I saw her ridden with guilt.

I frown at her, then look back at Apple Bloom, trying to keep a cool head and make sense of whatever is going on. "So, you needed me to realize that I couldn't use my magic? That still doesn't explain how you managed to sap my powers."

Apple Bloom barely opened her mouth when it dawned on me. Princess Luna. "Ah." I say, a sick feeling sinking into the very pit of my stomach. My fur is still bristling, even worse than back in the library. "Princess Luna needs me for something, so she's stopped my magic and put you three on the job. Well, congratulations. I'm here."

My response throws Apple Bloom for a loop. Perhaps she was expecting a struggle. She raises an eyebrow at me, trying to read my face.

It's no use, I just stare back at her blankly. Inside, I'm in full-blown panic mode, but my face and tone suggest nothing but slight impatience and boredom.

After a while, Apple Bloom gives up trying to read me, and scowls at me. "Don't even bother trying to escape, either. The rest of Ponyville thinks you're a loony." She stands, flicking her tail at me as she turns to exit the barn. "Come on, Mac, we'll let Applejack watch Twilight for the first shift."

I watch as Mac trots after Apple Bloom, the two of them practically guffawing about my apprehension. They haven't yet reached the door when I catch sight of Apple Bloom's cutie mark again, the painted look still bothering me. On a whim, I call out to her. "Hey, Apple Bloom!"

She stops, and turns toward me. "What do you want?"

I buck my head to the side to indicate her rump. "What's your real cutie mark?" I ask, nonchalant.

Her lips spread into a wicked smirk as she turns toward me so that I can get a good look at it. She rubs the cover-up away from it, revealing a dripping skull, smack dab in the middle of the shiny, red apple. She says nothing, sure that the shock value of it will be enough to answer my own question for me.

I try to remain indifferent as she trots out of the barn, securing the door behind her as she goes. I'm still reeling from the gruesome cutie mark as I look to Applejack. She says nothing, but nods her head at me, answering my question for me, again. It's real. Apple Bloom has a poison apple for a cutie mark.