Applejack doesn't seem like the idea of Luna making me write the letter to Celestia is anything new to her. She shakes her head slightly, her eyes tired as they train on the floor in front of me. "I heard," she says, the fight in her voice nothing but a shadow.

"Apple Bloom?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

She nods. "My lil' sister likes to brag."

I sigh. "It may play to our advantage one day, you never know." My nose goes back down to the grass - I haven't noticed how famished I'd become in the last day. Even stale, the grass goes down without any qualm. I know if I complain, it won't get any better, so there's no use in wasting energy on it.

Applejack watches me eat for a few minutes. We make small talk as I finish off the grass; neither of us brings up the pressing issues. Both of us know that there's no point in talking about that, either. We've done what we can for the time being, and now all we have to do is wait.

After some time, Applejack gets up, taking my tray back in her teeth and bids me goodnight with a nod of her head. With that, she's gone, presumably back to her sister with news of my developments. For my sake, I hope that Applejack's honesty doesn't get the better of her.

I lay down in the scanty hay, my eyes finding the sleeping form of Rarity to focus on. By now, the chill of night has set in, and I can see her shivering. A frown comes to my face. I turn my head and curl up, tucking my tail in, waiting for morning to come.

When I wake the next morning, it's with a start, and a flood of pain. I'm not even conscious when the pain hits, surging through my stomach, jarring me awake. I groan, rolling over onto my back, my hooves curling in.

"Get up, lazy." A not unfamiliar voice demands.

I moan in pain again, my eyes fluttering open. Blurry at first, they fixate on Spike standing in front of me, a smug smirk on his face.

"I said, get up." He says, not hesitating to kick me again, this time in the knee.

I roil in pain, cussing as I struggle to do as I'm told. I can tell that I'm going to be bruised already. Spike never did know his own strength. My mind is flooding with thoughts, and none of them are turning out to be good. Clearly, Spike is here, which means that Mac dropped the hint to Apple Bloom, and it was a good enough lie to get him here. But, that doesn't explain why he's kicking me awake, or the smug, irritating smile on his lips.

Once I'm able to stand, for the most part, I get my first good look around. Rarity is gone, and Spike and I aren't alone. Apple Bloom is standing in between the door of the barn and Spike, watching me with the same cruel smirk on her face.

"What do you want?" I cough out. Last night's grass is threatening to make a reappearance, and all the kicking isn't helping.

"C'mon, buddy," Spike says, his tone condescending and heavily laden with something eerily close to sarcasm. "I thought you'd be happy to see me. After all, we're going to Canterlot together. Just like old times."

I grimace. I should have known that Apple Bloom would warp Spike against me. Then again, since I evicted Spike from the library, he hasn't exactly held me in the highest regard. In my mind, I'm kicking myself for not seeing that it would go this way. "Fun stuff," I say, mirroring his tone. "Nothing like a good morning kick in the gut, reminds me of the old days."

He sneers at me, choosing not to dignify my sarcasm with a response. "Celestia has seen fit to take you under her wing again. A letter came this morning, through yours truly." He says, producing a scroll with a broken seal, waving it in my face. "Touching, really. She's worried about you."

My heart surges at the words. I know it's silly, but the thought of the only person who cares about me being put to death by my own hand is severely disheartening. "Great. Let's go then." I say, staggering forward, trying not to put any weight on my injured knee.

Spike smirks, this time a bit too wide for me to find trustworthy. "Apple Bloom thinks we're almost ready. We just need to dress you up for the princess before we ship off."

I arch my brow at him, my mouth turning down as I begin backing away from him. "Dress me up?"

That was mistake number one. His hands whip out from behind his colossal body, gripping me in a vice before I even have time to properly react. Bruised, I still do my best at fidgeting in his grip before Apple Bloom casually saunters toward us, a strange looking necklace in her teeth.

Minutes later, and it's on me. It's tight enough not to be able to get off, and cause me discomfort, which Apple Bloom thinks is marvelous, judging by the sadistic look on her face. Never have I so much wanted to rub her face in a big pile of steaming - "There," Apple Bloom says, backing away from me as Spike sets me down. "Don't you look perdy."

"Great." I say, raising my hoof to try and move the collar.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Apple Bloom says, her wicked smirk curling her lips again.

No sooner had she said it, my hoof had managed to barely grace the collar enough to budge it a fraction of an inch, when a powerful shock surges through me, sending me reeling for the second time today. First, being kicked awake and now a shock collar! My body seizes, though my eyes and ears are still working. My teeth locked together from the sheer power of the surge, and yet I can see and hear Apple Bloom's cruel laugh. "I told you not to do that."

It takes me a minute to recover fully. The feeling comes back to my legs and at last, my body is mine to control again. I won't lie, I'm impressed with the magic in this collar, but I can tell that it's dark, and permeated with evil. What else could I expect from Apple Bloom? "Thanks.." I manage, my voice a touch hoarse. "What the hell is this for, anyway? You think I'd just look nice with a collar on? Weirdo."

Apple Bloom rolls her eyes and trots over to me, her nose just inches from mine as she nears me. "No, silly Twilight. This is a special collar from Luna herself. It regulates your magic when we're not around to do it." She says, matter-of-fact. "Canterlot is an awful big place, and we wouldn't want you to get any brilliant ideas, now would we?"

I sigh. "So you're just going to zap me any time I try to get it off, huh?"

Apple Bloom nods, beaming from ear to ear. "That and any time we think you're getting too creative for our plan to go smoothly." She nods to Spike. "Spike here will be watching you. Constantly."

"Joy."

"Come along now," she says, turning on her hooves and facing the bright, sunny day outside the barn. "We wouldn't want you to be late to your homecoming."