The house door opens and closes again as Luna makes her exit, leaving Big Mac, Rarity, and myself. I have to assume that Rarity's magic has been stolen as well, because she's just sitting there taking the abuse. Maybe that was the easiest thing to do.

Big Mac glares at me, as I look at Rarity. She looks so frail and helpless - it's the only excuse I have for volunteering myself up for this suicide mission. I've never been one to really care about anypony else, but seeing Rarity like this must have struck a chord in me. Before I knew what I was doing, I had agreed to it, to save Rarity and everypony else I love from this fate. One thing is for certain - if I don't get this right, it won't just be my head that Luna will demand.

Big Mac looks angry, as if he's furious with the fact that Luna has given him babysitting duty. A while passes before anything happens. Big Mac says nothing, but refuses to move - and well, Rarity looks too terrified to put another hoof out of line. Me, I'm just waiting for whatever comes next. My day can not get any worse.

A few seconds later, I hear hooves coming down the stairs. Apple Bloom enters the kitchen; as it seems, I've spoken too soon. My day is about to get a lot worse. I groan a bit under my breath, ignoring the smirk on Apple Bloom's face.

"Hello, miscreant." she says, addressing me. Clearly, she was eavesdropping on the conversation I had with Luna.

"Hello," I retort, openly glaring at her, "what do you want?"

She chuckles darkly and shakes her head at me. "It's not what I want - it's what Princess Luna wants."

I look at her as if she's stupid. "And what does Luna want?" I say, not bothering with her title.

"She wants you to write a letter," Apple Bloom says, producing a piece of parchment and a quill. "The letter," she reminds me, "to Celestia."

"At least take Rarity out of her bonds," I say. I know I'm in no position to start bargaining, but I can't stand to look at Rarity like this any longer.

Apple Bloom scowls at me, looking at me for a minute to see if I mean business.

I return the scowl with one of my own, growling at her under my breath.

Seemingly, she is convinced by my hostility, and nods to Big Mac to let Rarity go.

Scared and shaking, Rarity doesn't make a sound as her bindings are untied. She's a wreck, and she knows it. I resist the urge to go to her side and comfort her.

"Hop to it, Twilight," Apple Bloom says, bucking my chair to make me look at the parchment on the table. "Tick-tock."

I jostle as she hits the chair, glaring at her constantly over my shoulder until she trots toward her older brother to speak with him in a hushed tone. I can't hear them, so instead, I turn my face toward the parchment and take the quill between my teeth.

After some time, I've finished the letter.

Amazingly enough, Apple Bloom and Big Mac hadn't interrupted me once - and I was pleased to find out that my letter writing skills are still as good as ever. Well, it sounds believable enough to convince Celestia that I want to go back to Canterlot and study under her again.

"I'm done," I announce, pushing the paper away from myself with my hoof.

Apple Bloom trots toward me, grabbing the paper from the table, reading it over once before she sighs and hands it to Big Mac, who leaves us immediately.

"It's acceptable," she says, moving toward Rarity and giving her a kick to nudge the white pony toward me. "Take this despicable thing back to the barn with you, Twilight. When I decide to feed you, you'll get dinner."

Rarity gives a meager whimper as she's kicked and shuffles along the floor toward me. She doesn't dare say anything in front of Apple Bloom - and this scares me more than it should. Even when Rarity was taken by Spike when he was in his grabby phase, she wouldn't shut up. Even Rarity knows that Apple Bloom means business, and she's definitely not missed the evil cutie mark.

I take Rarity under my arm, ignoring Apple Bloom as she laughs to herself, her evil giggle ringing in my ears, even as the two of us hobble down the hall and out the door.

Clearly, she trusts us not to run. Perhaps the Acres are booby trapped, and ready to make us suffer, if we want to run. I make a mental note to ask Applejack to look into it, if by some chance, she's still alive and kicking.

"T-Twilight-" Rarity sputters, once we're out of earshot of Apple Bloom and her madness, "what - what's going on?" There's a tone in her voice that I've never heard from her before. It's beyond scared. Rarity is actually terrified.

I bite my lip. I don't think she really understands what's at risk, and I'm not sure I want to tell her. "Luna wants to take over Equestria." I say, my voice hushed as I look over my shoulder.

"She c-can't be serious... Celestia wouldn't allow that to happen."

I shake my head, "You heard her. She wants to kill Celestia. Or, rather, she wants me to kill Celestia."

Rarity hobbles into the barn, and I close the door behind us. Her voice is hoarse as she shudders at the state of the barn. I guess old habits die hard. "Twilight, really, are you going to kill Celestia?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I haven't really thought about it." Really, I don't want to murder anypony. Especially the one mare that I ever really respected. Celestia understood my thirst for knowledge, and only she could understand how I felt when I was just a student... but if it came down to having to take her life for the sake of everyone else's... I don't know what I'd do. I don't trust Luna to leave us alone, but resistance seems futile. The first thought that comes to my mind is to reach out to Celestia for help. Surely she would know what to do about this whole ordeal. Maybe if I told her that Luna wanted her dead, she would rise up against her sister. Maybe then, it wouldn't even come down to me having to find a way to kill her. I sigh to myself, knowing that Luna will be expecting this. At the moment, my options are getting slimmer and slimmer.

"You mean you're actually considering doing it? Twilight, darling, don't you think that's a bit..." Rarity says, shooting me an apprehensive gaze, "morose?"

I move toward her and sit down on my haunches. The ground is hard and hurts my rump, but I don't really notice it. My brain is still swimming with the discussion I had with Luna earlier. "I don't know, Rarity. It's easy to say I wouldn't, but I can't... not when she's threatening to murder everyone else. Even if she doesn't keep her promise to let everyone go free... I can't rule anything out yet." How easily things have turned to dark. My thoughts now revolve around murder, betrayal and having to choose who gets to live and who has to die. Even in my nightmares, Equestria has never been so fragile, and it's all in my hooves now. I huff a brief laugh to myself at the irony of it all. How often I had felt like the world was on my shoulders. Really, now it is.

Rarity frowns at me, looking tired. She says nothing, but lays down on the hay, awkwardly licking her leg wounds. Clearly, she's not satisfied with my answer.

After a few minutes of silence, she stops licking her wounds and looks toward me, her eyes sparkling in what little light there is. She's on the verge of tears again. "The Twilight Sparkle that I knew would never even have had to think twice about this." She says, her words aiming to cut deep at my heart.

Unsurprisingly, it etches anger into my mind. "Yeah, well, the Twilight Sparkle that you knew changed when everypony left her behind to get on with their lives."

Rarity scowls at me, her nose up in the air already. "You can't seriously blame us for this."

I growl at her, forcing myself into a standing position, my hoof stomping at the dirty floorboards. "I can, and I will." I stomp my hoof in her direction again, my eyes ablaze with anger. "What happened to friendship when you moved to Canterlot? What happened to it when Dash went to the Wonderbolts and forgot about us all? When everyone left, I was the only one without anyone. And now, just like always, it's my job to piece it all together again. I'd like to see you try and do it. You can't even go one second without thinking about yourself anymore, I bet." I spit at the ground. "Generosity, my hoof!"

At first, Rarity looks astonished. Several long, awkward seconds pass before she even says anything. Her tone is soft, and sounds hurt. "I can't believe you, Twilight," she says, her eyes on the floor now, "you've changed... and not for the better. You were the brightest of us all... and now look what you've become. You're contemplating murder, betrayal, and you're lashing out at everyone but yourself. We left because we knew we had to grow up. You stayed behind in Ponyville in your library. I can't count how many times I sent you letters asking about you and how you were doing, but there were no replies. Your magic has gone to your head, and now since you've become powerful, Luna is trying to use that against Celestia. You are the one that is at fault. Not anyone else, just you." Rarity sighs, turning her back to me. "It doesn't matter, anyway. You're going to let Equestria down, just like you let down your friends."

Now it's my turn to stay in abashed silence. My cheeks burn pink, embarrassment skirting my face all over. I know, underneath it all, Rarity's explanation is correct, as much as I want to deny it.

I turn and walk away from her, but my mind is still swimming with her words as I settle down into the hay. Maybe I am at fault. Either way, I have to clean up the mess.

Hours pass before anything happens. Rarity, though now having succumbed to sleep, hasn't said a word to me, and I haven't stirred from my spot. My mind has been a wreck, trying to keep from going insane. Admittedly, I'm not doing a very good job at formulating a plan, especially since Rarity's little speech has gotten me in between a rock and a hard place.

Only when the barn door creaks and swings open do I even stir. My head turns to the noise; the sky streams in through the crack in the door, a brilliant shade of purple, pink and orange. It's getting late, but I don't care. The sun illuminates a butterscotch pony trotting into the barn, and even in the low light, I can tell that it's Applejack.

I get to my hooves, cantering toward her; she's got two trays of day-old grass in her mouth, hindering her movements. I take one from her and set it down, and she puts the other one in front of the sleeping form that is Rarity. Thankfully, she hasn't been on my back this entire time, and I'll be able to talk to Applejack in peace.

I usher her over to the corner of the barn I've been occupying, and she follows me, a grim look on her face as she looks over her shoulder at Rarity's bruised and tired form. "They got Rarity, huh?" She says, turning to me once we sit down.

I nod grimly. "Yeah... is there any news on Spike?"

Applejack shakes her head at me, her mane tossing around. "I suggested to Big Mac that Applebloom would probably be pleased with him if he told her that Spike was looking for 'alternative work'." Her shoulders shrug lightly. "Let's hope he's dumb enough to fall for it. He always wants her approval and praise; I figure he should be tellin' her by tomorrow."

I perk my eyebrow. That was actually a pretty genius move. "Nice going," I say, unable to help myself but remember the adoring look that he was giving Apple Bloom the last time I saw them together. I screw up my nose in digust, hoping that nothing is going on between them. That would only be the cherry on top of it all.

Applejack gives me a gruff smile. "Not countin' chickens before they hatch, Twi. If this don't work, I don't know what to do."

I paw over the tray of grass to myself, taking a mouthful and chewing the stale grass before I respond. "Well, either way we don't have a lot of time. Luna showed herself today, and demanded I write a letter to Celestia begging her to take me back under her wing as her student." I swallow the dry blades with some effort. "Whether or not we're ready, Luna is making her move, and we need to catch up."