Twilight sat, briefly frozen in time between the words: “Do” and “Tell”, her mind was very much active, and rather focused on a single concept; that being the mantra of “No!”

She gently bit her lip as she scrambled for a solution, looking for any way out that would allow her cover to remain uncompromised. She found herself quickly deciding on: “Haha! Funny joke, Lyra! You really had her going!”

As much as Twilight wished that would have solved her problems, the only thing that it accomplished was drawing confused looks from the other mares at the table.

“Luv, I don’t think it was a joke. I’ve known Lyra for a while; I know when she’s just playing around.” Octavia furrowed her brow and turned to face Lyra. “So, what’s got Chaser so jumpy?”

As Lyra began to write, Twilight set her teeth upon her lower lip in a fit of panic. The culmination of her foolish trust was coming back to get her. She knew the entire act was fake, that Lyra was going to betray her from the beginning. And yet she hadn’t yet taken the chance to escape the vile unicorn’s charismatic clutches.

Lyra gently flung the note onto the table top as she looked to Twilight. “Probably the fact that she isn’t who we said she is. It’d just be better to show you.”

Twilight lifted her gaze from the page and locked eyes with Lyra. Her heart was pounding, her skin felt clammy and, despite her best efforts, she couldn’t manage to speak her mind: ‘Please, don’t do this.’

It wasn’t until she felt a weight being lifted from her head that she began to realize what was happening. Instantly she slammed her hooves over the fedora, pinning it to the top of her head. “Alright, Lyra, that’s enough. You can stop now.”

Lyra simply twisted her mouth to the side and looked to Octavia, who was merely sitting there with the most befuddled and angry look on her face. “Alright, ah’ve had enough ‘o dis back ‘n forth!” Octavia slammed her hooves on the table and shot the other mares a look that could kill. “If you two’s don’t start fessin’ up ‘bout what da’ hay is goin’ on, I’m fixin ta’ kick ya two’s outside ‘till ya come clean!”

For the briefest of moments, Twilight watched something in Octavia’s face shift. The earth pony closed her eyes, dropped her shoulders, and gave a tired shake of her head. “Sorry, sorry. My Manehattan shows when I get’s mad.” She took a deep breath and briefly closed her eyes before continuing. “Can one of you two just explain what all this is about so I’m not completely lost? What’s got her so scared?” Octavia inquired as she jerked her head towards Twilight.

“Scared? I’m not, scared!” Twilight fumbled with the fedora as her hooves briefly slipped. “Just a little bit... annoyed.” She glared at Lyra as her hooves began to lose their grip against the glowing hat. Twilight quickly countered Lyra’s magic with her own and furrowed her brow. “Lyra, stop it!”

The glow from Lyra’s horn vanished and reappeared in her smile a moment later. Twilight looked over to Octavia, who had left her mouth hanging wide open and was rendered eerily silent. Twilight mulled over the cues for a moment, opting to simply ask when she couldn’t think of a reason for the other’s behavior.

“What?”

Octavia simply closed her mouth and pointed a hoof at Twilight’s headwear, softly encapsulated in a gentle lavender aura.

It took all of two seconds for Twilight to realize what had happened, and ten seconds to register that she’d forgotten how to breathe. The glow stopped as she slunk down in her seat, pulling the hat tightly against her head and over her eyes. Her breathing hitched, gave a start, and returned to normal as she regained her composure.

All was quiet for a few moments; altogether too quiet given the situation. Slowly the rim of the fedora revealed a very stern-looking earth pony and a quiet unicorn with the cheekiest grin on her face.

Twilight seethed at Lyra, but that anger quickly gave way to confusion. Lyra could have given her away to anypony, so why Octavia? Why give away her secret to a supposed musician? As much as Twilight wanted to explore the logic behind her hypothesis, she found herself interrupted by a very flat and serious voice.

“Chaser, luv. I’m only goin’ to ask you once: Who are you, really?” Octavia stated.

“I...” Twilight sunk her teeth into her lip as her gaze drifted to Lyra. “I...” Lyra offered a friendly, coaxing nod; she didn’t buy it in the slightest.

In that moment, Twilight realized she was out of options; all that was left to do was pin her ears back, lower her gaze, and tell the truth. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, faithful student of Princess Celestia, Bearer of the Element of Magic...” Slowly she removed the fedora from her head with a hoof and a sigh, “... and former unicorn.”

Octavia didn’t move, didn’t blink, didn’t breathe. After a while, Lyra hopped off her chair and started shaking the earth pony in her seat. Shortly after a massive breath and the reassessment of her surroundings, Octavia leveled her gaze with Twilight. “Alright! Well then, luv. I’m going to take our mutual antagonist over here for a muzzle-flapping. You sit tight for a moment in the living room while I talk things over with Lyra, mm?”

The beginnings of a response rushed to Twilight’s lips, only to die in her throat. The other two mares quietly left the table, leaving Twilight alone with her food and too many unspoken questions.

For a moment, Twilight raised a hoof in objection, quietly bringing it back to her side as realization sank it. There was no back up, there was no ambush. Octavia had simply just, walked away. Twilight stared at the remaining food on her plate as she searched for whatever piece of the puzzle she had missed. She grabbed the leftovers and dumped them unceremoniously into the trash bin. She paused a moment, looking to the door the other mares had disappeared behind, then made her way to the living room.

The best explanation for Octavia’s actions was to chastise Lyra for her brash behavior. Twilight looked to the window, then to the pile of wires and the electronic equipment with a groan. Twilight didn’t necessarily want to be right, she had enough of that from the last three days; and was frankly sick of what it had brought her.

She let her mind wander off with that errant idea as she glanced to the fedora resting on the arm of the couch. As enticing as the thought was, it slammed into a possibility she didn’t want to consider: she was entirely capable of being wrong about these two. It wasn’t something she was going to leave to chance.

Slowly Twilight edged up against the door that the other mares had disappeared into. She cocked her ear against the wooden panel and closed her eyes in concentration.

“... would you lie to me like that, Lyra?” Octavia fell silent as the sound of scribbling came from the other side of the door.

“Yes, I understand you thought it was a good idea. But there’s something obviously going on here. You can’t just drop something like this on me.” The room fell silent once more for a few moments.

“I know you’ve sprung things on me just as bad, but what about Scratch? If I agree to this without her, she’s going to kill us when we tell her!”

Twilight jerked away from the door frame. She’d heard enough, and the window was looking particularly inviting. Twilight dove for the fedora resting on the table, and sprinted for the window as she pulled the hat snugly over her head. She put her hooves on the bottom of the frame, threw the window-pane upward, and dove outside.

The only issue this presented was that the building opposite the window was far closer than she originally guessed. She quickly looked down as her hooves firmly planted against the opposite alley wall.

She wanted any number of reasonable actions to take in a situation like this, but all that came out was: “No, no, no, no!” Her wings shot out in a feeble flap as she tumbled twenty-odd feet, crashing down into a crumpled, purple heap.

“Mmmm, Ow...” Twilight pulled her wings to her sides and slowly steadied herself against the wall. She quickly scanned for any witnesses and heaved a sigh of relief when she discovered none. With one last look up to the window she just defenestrated herself from, she grabbed the fedora, took a single shaky step, and winced for a moment.

“Twilight! What are you doing? Don’t move, luv. We’ll be right down!” Twilight jerked her head back to the window to see Octavia and Lyra leaning out the window. Both mares disappeared back inside, leaving Twilight alone with her frantic mind. She looked to the exits of the alley and took another step, clenching her teeth as she nearly collapsed.

Twilight silently cursed her wings, she cursed her luck, she cursed pretty much anything and anypony that could be remotely attributed to her misfortune. She was just adding fate to her list as Octavia and Lyra rushed around the corner. The two rushed to her side in mere moments, helping her to her hooves and back inside.

Once more, the three mares sat around a table within Octavia's house, except this time there was a distinct lack of food, happy faces, and reminiscence.

Octavia propped her foreleg on the table, and rested her head on her hoof as she stared at Twilight with a completely unreadable face. "So, is there any particular reason you threw yourself out a second story window?"

"Uh, well you see, I was— going to try to practice flying! Yeah! Figured a little extra height would help me g—"

"Sorry, luv, I don't buy that." Octavia cocked an eyebrow and twisted her mouth in such a way, that Twilight couldn't tell if the earth pony was thinking, worried, or both.

Twilight pulled herself away from Octavia’s piercing gaze and glanced over at Lyra. She hadn't contributed to the conversation at all from the time that she and Octavia helped Twilight inside. Twilight couldn’t help but notice that Lyra had been focused on her foreleg with riveted attention, seemingly ignoring everything else. Twilight was about to say something to Lyra, but the unicorn furrowed her brow and hurried out of the room with no warning.

"Well alright then, I guess it's just you and me, Ms. Sparkle. Or is it Princess Spar—"

"Not. A princess." Twilight growled as she leveled her gaze with Octavia.

The earth pony blinked rapidly and shrugged. "What would you prefer that I call you then? Just Twilight?"

"Yes, please."

"Alright." Octavia ran a hoof through her hair and let her eyes dart around erratically at various fixtures.

A couple different reasons for the behavior formulated in Twilight's mind, she didn’t like any of them. "Why are you stalling? We both know you have questions."

"See, that's just it, luv." The earth pony chuckled. "I do have questions, I just don't know what to say. It's kind of a strange scenario, from my end at least. I don't know how you feel about it, but it's not everyday that a long time friend brings an alicorn to lunch. I don't know where I'd even start, I guess 'are you okay?' is as good a place as any."

As if on cue, a throbbing ache pulsed in Twilight's foreleg. She didn't show it, but she did draw her hoof a little closer to herself. "I feel..." She started, only to stop and watch Lyra come around the corner from the kitchen with a note, and a towel wrapped around something. The unicorn gave the towel to Twilight and turned the note to face her.

"You were guarding your foreleg, so I made you an ice pack. Is it hurt badly? Why did you jump?"

“Uhm...” Twilight pressed the wrapped bag of ice to her leg and shivered. “Thank you, Lyra, it’ll be fine.”

“She asked you a question,” Octavia said with a glare, "and believe me, I'd like to know that answer too.”

The thing was, Twilight did mind. Twilight minded the whole situation quite a bit, she couldn’t push the inconsistencies out of her head: no ambush, no weapons, not even the slightest hint of malicious intent. In fact, the more Twilight thought about it, the more she came to realize that Lyra and Octavia weren’t focused on a mission; they were as confused and worried as she was.

Twilight steeled herself for the leap of faith she was going to take. She sighed softly and gave the other mares a pitiful look. “Well, alright, the reason I jumped, starts a few days ago...”

The next hour or so was largely spent battling Octavia's questions as Twilight tried to explain herself. Lyra was more or less detached from the whole tale, and spent most of her time getting Octavia to listen.

“... And that’s why I didn’t want to say anything, because I deduced you two are spies for Luna and want me captured or dead.”

Octavia stared at Twilight, looked to Lyra who gave a nonchalant shrug, and then back to Twilight.

“At least,” Twilight rubbed a hoof behind her head sheepishly, “I thought you two were working for her.”

Octavia waved a hoof in the air between herself and Twilight. “So what you’re saying is: those wings exploded out of you for reasons you can’t explain, your friends have gone nuts, one of the princesses is after you, we are working for her, and you figured the window was the best way to make an escape.”

“Yep, that’s about the gist of it.”

Lyra interjected with a gently tossed note: “Sounds like you had a fun week.”

“Lyra!” Octavia chided, “I know you’re try’n to lighten the situation, but now’s not da’ time, luv. Give ‘er a break, wouldja?” The earth pony put her hoof in the air, mouth open as if to speak before exhaling slowly. “Okay, now, I’m no soldier: the only bow I know how to draw is the one across the strings of a cello. I’m an artist, not a spy. I can say with confidence that the same goes for Heartstrings, so don’t worry about us; you’ve got worse things to worry about.”

Lyra put a hoof to her chin briefly before interjecting with a note. “Why come to Canterlot at all? Wouldn’t it be better to go the opposite direction from Princess Luna?”

“Well, I don’t know if you’re both aware, but I am Princess Celestia’s personal student. And given Luna’s actions, I’m worried that my teacher, our princess, is in danger. If I can find Celestia, if I can free her from Luna’s trap, then she can make everything right again.”

Octavia just stared at Twilight for a moment. “Well then.”

“That’s insane. How are you going to pull that off?”

“I...” Twilight gave the question some thought, she had a plan, but it was dubious at best. “... don’t know, I’ll think of something.”

Octavia sighed and shook her head into her hoof. “I’ve no idea what to even think about this. Alright, so here’s the deal: You can crash here for a while to figure out how you’re going to save Celestia.”

The sound of scribbling filled the air after Octavia fell silent. Twilight’s ears perked in curiosity as she watched Lyra attack the page, then suddenly tear the paper off and look over it. All was quiet as Lyra gave a short nod at the page, then offered it to her. Twilight took the note from Lyra slowly, glancing up in time to see Lyra gesture to the paper.

“I want to come along, I want to help. If this is about the fate of Equestria, I’m not going to just do nothing if I know something about it.”

“No!” Twilight slowly lowered herself back to her seat. She tried to rationalize her outburst, Lyra coming could be a liability if she really was working for Luna. But if she was, she could have easily turned Twilight in earlier. It would have made things easier to understand if she had, but the fact was that the unicorn had done little to nothing to actually hinder Twilight’s progress. But it wasn’t a matter of needing help.

“If you came with me, Luna would come after you as well. I appreciate it, but I don’t want you two to fall into harm’s way because Luna’s after me. You’re safer if you don’t get directly involved.”

Lyra slung her forelegs across each other and pouted softly, grabbing her notepad with a scowl. “I’m still going to help, even if you don’t want me to come with you. Go ahead and keep the fedora, it really makes the disguise work. It’s not much, but if you can get everything sorted out, then I can say that my hat helped save Equestria.”

Twilight had to read the last line twice, allowing herself a chuckle and small smile. “I suppose that’d be true, to a degree. Thank you, thank you both for believing me.”

“Luv, you’re an alicorn. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but that’s not exactly common.” Octavia replied flatly. “That fact alone lends credibility to pretty much anything you say.”

"Maybe so, maybe not." Twilight said flatly, "All I do know is that I have to get into that castle tonight. I don't have time to waste, I should probably be going now, guard shifts will be changing soon, if the schedule is the same as when I lived here."

Octavia blinked absently for a moment. "Wait, now? You're already leaving?"

Twilight grabbed the fedora off the table as she headed to the door, looking back at the faces of the two strangers that gave her a brief respite.

"Lyra, Octavia: if the sun doesn't rise tomorrow, I'm sorry. I tried." And with that, Twilight Sparkle pulled the hat over her horn, opened the door, and stepped out into the Canterlot streets.

The moment that Twilight set hoof out the door, every fiber of her being protested against the throngs of bustling ponies walking the streets.

She could feel herself torn in two directions at once: directly behind, and directly ahead. As much as she wanted to just run back inside with the nice ponies who gave her food and alleviated her pain, she knew she had to continue on.

Twilight forged on into the crowd, keeping her head lower than normal and avoiding as much eye contact as possible. She knew all the best routes to take in and near the castle, but the problem with that knowledge was that she had to get there in the first place. She left that thought as she silently cursed herself for being such a shut-in when she was younger.

The main problem was that Octavia’s house was in the entertainment district, a district that she just didn’t have time for as a filly. She pinned her ears down and shuffled past bars holding rowdy ponies, outdoor seating of restaurants filled with ponies and laughter. Fortunately that meant that they’d be focused on each other, and not on her.

She kept her head down and trudged toward the castle, her mind operating at a speed many times faster than her hoofsteps.

Growing up in Canterlot was something a lot of ponies did, growing up in the castle however... Twilight had interacted superficially with most of the guards, even used to know some of the ones usually stationed around the library and her tower by name. She’d always been curious, and the guards had good naturedly answered the young filly’s questions about what the being in the guard was like. Right now, she silently thanked her younger self for the - at the time - useless information.

One such useful fact was that guard shifts usually changed after dinner. Twilight figured that as long as she lay low, she could sneak in unnoticed. Her only concerns were that the guard might be actively looking for her, and the post changes were some time off.

Unfortunately, that information wasn’t going to help her at the moment: she was in the entertainment district, still a good hour or more from the castle proper.

“Hey! You!”

Twilight wheeled around, to see a pegasus stallion swaying on his hooves, slowly stumbling toward a very confused looking purple earth pony. The mare backed away and raised an eyebrow as the light-grey stallion took a drunken swing at her, stumbling forward about five feet away.

“Vee, enough!” A dull brown pegasus mare, easily taller than Celestia, banked a corner around a building and put herself between the earth pony, and the rogue pegasus. “It’s okay, Vee. We’re going to go home, and everything will be alright.”

“It’s not going to be okay, Barricade!” The stallion said with a hiss. “He's dead! My brother’sh dead, he’s never coming… And it’s her fault!” He spat, as he turned, missing a swing at a passing purple earth pony.

Barricade moved between Vee and his new target, and started spouting apologies to both the earth pony and the pegasus. “I’m sorry about Vee. He’s normally not this way... He lost his brother in a freak accident on a simple escort... He has been ranting about Twilight Sparkle since the report came in yesterday. I’m just trying to get him home, I’m so sorry.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide as she attempted to process the scene. Twilight knew Barricade; A lithe guard as tall as the princesses was pretty hard to forget, even if Twilight was a filly at the time. But her mind froze when the stallion locked eyes with her.

“You!” He snarled as he charged toward the crowd.

Twilight stumbled back, only to watch the monolithic pegasus pick up the drunken stallion and sling him across her shoulders roughly. “That’s enough, Vee! If you’re not going quietly, we are doing this the hard way!”

Vee simply rolled his head softly before emptying his stomach on the cobblestone with a groan. “‘arrcashe? I think it’s time to go home… hic.”

Barricade grimaced at the mess on the ground, then turned and faced the other two mares that were nearly attacked. “I’m so, so sorry…”

Twilight could only blink as she watched the female guard briskly escape the scene, causing the attentive crowd to start disbanding, some of which ran to the victims of near-assault. A few broke toward Twilight with looks of concern, but she quickly convinced them that she was fine.

As weird as the whole situation was, Twilight was at least thankful that nopony recognized her. Granted, she hardly recognized herself, but she pushed that thought from her mind as she pressed on.

Throngs of colored forms melded into a blur as Twilight found herself sprinting in the general direction of the castle. All she wanted was to get away from that incident. She came to a slow trot a few blocks later, panting softly and nursing her leg with a soft limp. Twilight quickly continued her walk as nonchalantly as possible, though her mind was still in overdrive.

She knew she needed to get into the castle, and quickly at that. Every moment spent idling was another moment closer to nightfall, and another moment that Celestia might not have. Twilight stopped on a street corner and gave herself a moment or two to get her bearings. The castle was close. Very close. Unfortunately for Twilight, getting into the castle without raising an alarm was still a major issue. She briefly considered using an old service tunnel that Celestia once told her about, but opted for something a little less predictable.

As Twilight meandered over to a bench to think, she let her eyes wander amongst the ponies bustling on the streets. A happy couple heading to dinner, a couple adolescent colts and fillies laughing and talking as they perused the shops. A short distance down the road, two guards were seemingly lost in idle banter as she continued to sweep the crowd for signs of something suspicious.

The guards in particular drew Twilight’s interest. She watched them carefully, making sure to not let them know she was observing them. After a while, an idea formed itself in her head, and a smile on her face.

It was such a simple plan, one so brilliantly bland that it had to work: she’d just walk through the front doors with her disguise. Her smile shifted into a cheeky smirk as she got to her hooves. She shot a final glance at the guards. Twilight figured Luna would likely be expecting her to try and sneak in, and would have the tunnel staffed with extra security.

Canterlot Castle. Even when she wasn’t being hunted by most of the ponies inside, it still made her coat stand on end at the mere sight of it. Tall, ornate alabaster pillars set upon vast marble floors. A symphony of white and gold in the middle of the city. She would never forget how it looked when she first saw it.

Of course, any pleasant memories were quickly forgotten as she beheld the sheer number of guards posted in the halls. She held a hoof to her forehead, desperately trying to stave off a panic attack. Twilight knew there had to be a way to get past; she just needed to think of a plan.

“Ma’am? Are you having trouble finding your way out?”

“Ahh!” Twilight jerked to her left, wings flared and ears pinned much to the bewilderment of the guard that just engaged her. “Oh, H—hello.”

The guard leveled a stern expression at Twilight. “You’ve been pacing for quite some time, but this area is off limits and the castle is closing to the public soon. I can’t have civilians loitering on the premises. You’re going to have to leave.”

As the guard spoke, Twilight’s heart began pounding in her chest. “Oh! Well, I don’t know... There’s no chance I can get past you and find the restroom, or something?”

The guard returned with a measured gaze, boring straight into the back of her skull. Twilight couldn’t help but flinch, looking to the ground as her wings remained flared. As much as she wanted to turn and run, she knew that she couldn’t wait, Luna wasn’t going to wait, either. Just then, she spotted a potted plant behind the guard, off to the side. As slowly as the thought formed in her mind, she softly lifted the plant and returned her gaze to the guard.

“I’m sorry ma’am, but you’ll have to use the lobby facilities, this area is off limits. Please don’t m—” The guard furrowed his brow and quietly stepped to the side. He muttered something under his breath before bowing slightly and continuing. “Sorry miss, the facilities are down the hall to your right.”

Twilight blinked a few times as both the pot, and her wings came back down to their natural positions. “I, uh, thank you? I guess?” She slowly edged her way past the guard, before entering the inner hallway. She glanced back over her shoulder, only to catch the guard’s head quickly pivoting forward once more. Twilight darted around the corner, pausing to see if the guard had followed, and finding it rather strange when he didn’t.

It took a few moments for Twilight to get moving again, and once she did, she was none too quick about it. Every statue she passed seemed to loom over her, waiting to strike. Even though the statues were themselves completely harmless, she could only imagine a squad of guards leaping from the shadows the monuments cast.

Twilight stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked around. There were a great number of things weighing heavily on Twilight’s mind. Newly added to the list was the fact that there was no guard presence.

She pressed onward, twisting and turning through the passageways by muscle memory alone, constantly checking corners and doorways for anypony that might see her. But the farther she went, the more worried she became. There seemed to be not a single guard in the inner castle. Twilight began to wonder if they were all called to the throne room, or if they’d all been ordered to lie in wait for a trap around the next corner.

These doubts continued to haunt her even as she turned the final corner. It was then that Twilight looked up at the throne room doors, and suddenly felt incredibly small. She simply locked up in fear: she knew hordes of guards, pain, and failure waited for her behind those doors. She wished she had the ability to see through walls, or to just wake up, and let all this be a sick, twisted dream. But Twilight just sat there, staring at the doors.

It was then that Twilight realized that she’d never stop Luna by sitting outside, paralyzed in fear. Time was not on her side as it was, and every moment spent doubting herself was one that Celestia might not have. Twilight gathered her resolve, readied herself, and charged the doors.

The doors flew open as she barreled through, eyes wide. Twilight stumbled forward expecting a salvo of magic, or a wall of spears. But the only notable thing about the room was Princess Celestia herself, standing before her throne.

The two locked eyes for a moment, before Twilight stumbled forward, breaking into a trot. Overwhelming joy washed over Twilight, the fact that Celestia was standing there was testament to Luna’s failure. Twilight sped into a sprint as her eyes watered. “Princess, you’re here!”

"Twilight Sparkle, you have much to answer for." Celestia sounded a little different, sterner, or perhaps just tired.

Twilight paid it no mind, and continued her mad dash toward Celestia with tears of relief streaming down her face. “I was so worried! I thought something terrible happened and that you were in danger!”

Celestia took a step back and flared her wings. A lance, seemingly made of light appeared by her side as she furrowed her brow. “Twilight, stop.”

Twilight skidded to a halt only a few feet from her teacher as the lance swung down in a wide arc, burying itself into the ground and scarring the stone with a deep slash. She glared down at Twilight, voice dripping with venom. “I said: come no closer.”

Twilight blinked at the glowing hot crevice, then up to her mentor as she stepped back. “Good, you already have a weapon. I need to tell you something important.”

Celestia paused for a moment. Her eyes seemed to bore into Twilight’s skull, as if searching for something. “Speak. Quickly.”

“There’s something wrong with your sister, something wrong with everypony! Luna tried to kill me last night, but I managed to escape and disguise myself so I could come here! The other elements are in on the plan with her, though. It’s been days, and they’ve been acting strange and poisoning me, turning on me. I don’t know if they’ve been brainwashed or something, maybe they were just lying about being my friends from the very beginning. But now you’re here and you can fix everyt—?”

“Twilight. Twilight, slow down.” Celestia relaxed her wings but still held the lance in between herself and Twilight. “One thing at a time. Start from the beginning.”

“Right, right. The beginning.” Twilight backed up and started pacing the floor as she continued. “So a few days ago, those two guards and I got hit by lightning. Uh, Wedge and Biggs, I think. Everything was fine—”

“Lieutenant Wedge is dead, Twilight.” Celestia leveled her gaze with Twilight and scowled. “He was murdered. Violently. His brother identified what little remains we could find.”

Twilight felt her stomach turn under Celestia's accusing gaze “No! I would never...”

“You would never do such a thing?” Celestia sneered, “Then where is Biggs? Why set a pony’s house on fire? Why are you making it so hard for me to believe you, Twilight?”

“But I saved her! Even when I suspected she would betray me later!” Twilight pleaded. “I was going to leave her, but I didn’t!”

“Twilight, listen to yours—”

“Luna attacked me! I had no choice!” Twilight cried out. “I didn’t mean to! But it couldn’t be helped!”

“Is that so?” Celestia glared. “Because she recalls it a very different way. It’s a little more explosive and painful from her point of view.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide. “She spoke to you?” She whimpered. “She’s here?”

Celestia closed her eyes and looked away. “She is no danger to you Twilight, that issue is resolved.”

“And you can fix everything else too, right?” Twilight edged forward, drawing the attention of the lance’s tip. “Right?...”

“And what would you have me fix, Twilight?”

“My friends? Luna? These?” She stammered with a pitiful flap of her wings. “You can make everything go back to the way it was.”

“Can I really? There’s a dead guard and a grieving family, there’s a mare without her home, My sister, assaulted at your very hooves, and the near constant letters of concern sent by your friends.” Twilight’s worst fears were realized as Celestia’s stern expression shifted into a disappointed frown. “I stand here now, faced with a choice. Just as I did all those years ago.”

Twilight blinked slowly, expectantly. "'All those years ago'? I don’t foll—”

“I made a foolish decision then, and now I wonder. Dare I make the same mistake? Dare I let another monster walk freely in my kingdom?”

Twilight grasped for words as she staggered backwards. “M-monster?! Princess! I’m no monster, I’m on your side! Trust me, I’d know if I was some sort of monster!” she balked.

Celestia’s eyes shot open. Her lance warmed Twilight’s face as its point hovered between her eyes. A cold chill shot through Twilight in contrast to the hungering fire that raged before her.

“Thousands of years ago he said the same thing to me. I trusted him, and I lost everything because of it: most of my subjects, my naivety, my own sister. To this day, I have lived with that guilt, knowing I could have done something to prevent all of that loss.”

Twilight shrank away as Celestia advanced. “I prayed that I’d never have to make that choice again, but then, mere centuries later, I was forced to seal my own sister away. And now, barely two years after her return: this happens.” Celestia grimaced and glared as she drew the lance to Twilight’s neck. “Experience demands that I kill you where you stand.”

“Princess... I—I don’t understand... Why?”

“When every other answer is ruled out, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. Remember when I taught you that, Twilight?”

“Yes, but the others, Applejack and Rarity, all of them. They were trying to kill me!”

Celestia shook her head and looked down at Twilight. "Do you have proof? Did they attack you outright? Have you heard them say or seen them do anything blatantly hostile? How are you so sure that they haven't been trying to help you this entire time?

"B-because, I..." Twilight's ears wilted as she shrank away. "What about Luna? What was she doing in my room, casting a spell over me like that? She said she was 'going to help me with those'. She knew something, and she was trying to hurt me."

"My sister meant you no harm at all," Celestia stated. "She has the ability to assist ponies as they sleep, allowing them to slumber in peace, free of bad dreams. She told me that you were fidgeting as you 'slept' and that she was merely attempting to chase away any nightmares." Celestia's face grew hard as she stared Twilight down. "She contacted me as soon as she returned to Canterlot and informed me that 'Twilight Sparkle has gone rogue'."

"So tell me Twilight, who now is to blame?"

Twilight closed her eyes and set her mind to work. ‘If it isn’t my friends, if it isn’t Luna... If there is no giant movement to have me executed... then what is the cause of all this?... What remains, however impro—’ Twilight’s eyes lifted to meet Celestia’s own, no words were uttered. But the tears streaming down Twilight’s face were words enough.

“Yes, Twilight.”

“No. You’re wrong. I’m not— I can’t be—”

“But you are.”

“No, I saved that mare!”

“From the house you set on fire.”

“But, my friends! The were acting so suspicious, I was sure that they were—”

“Trying to help you, and you pushed them away.”

“I—” Twilight stammered as she fought to climb out of her jumbled mess of thoughts and tears. ‘I messed up. I failed my friends. I failed Celestia. I’ve turned into a monster.’ Twilight’s body shook as she hung her head. “Am I really as dangerous as you say I am?”

Celestia looked down to Twilight, her eyes heavy with sorrow. “Or even more so, yes.”

Twilight felt her blood freeze in her veins. She paused a moment, staring into Celestia’s eyes before lowering her gaze and baring her neck to the lance. “May I make a last request, Princess?”

“Yes, Of course.”

“Please make it quick, and tell the girls I’m sorry.” Twilight closed her eyes, and tried her hardest to force a smile. “And, Princess?”

The room was silent for a moment. “Yes, my faithful student?”

“I'm sorry I disappointed you.”

Twilight expected the singing of a blade through air, but all was quiet. A soft glow made it through Twilight’s eyelids, but then returned to darkness. All she could hear was the distinct sound of water splashing against stone.

‘Please give me this, Princess, I know I don’t deserve it... But don’t make me wait.’

She blinked a few times trying to get her eyes to focus, the room seemed to wobble far too much for her liking. She tried to push herself off the ground, only to find that her legs refused to support her as fell on her side.

A white blur she was sure was the princess came closer. She thought of her friends, how she was going to miss them, and smiled; they wouldn’t need to be afraid anymore.

She closed her eyes, as the sound of approaching hooves grew silent.

It was dark. Very dark. But Twilight knew there was something else. The near inaudible sound of somepony breathing filled the room.

Twilight had no idea where she was, but she very quickly realized that she was very much alive. She blinked wearily, barely registering the blurry surroundings as she tried to roll over. It took her at least three more moments of staring at the ceiling before she realised that she hadn’t moved.

She looked down to her hooves and the straps tying them to the cot. She jerked against the bindings and groaned when the wound on her wing bumped against one of the restraints.

A thunderous snort came from the side of the bed, drawing her attention to a familiar, sleeping, orange-coated farm pony.

"Applejack?"

The farmer’s eyes fluttered as she mumbled a few words. “Ah told ya, I’m not hungry, Rarity, don’t...”

“Applejack.”

Applejack yawned and finally opened her eyes. She rubbed her eyes with her foreleg and gave a start when she saw Twilight awake. "Oh my heavens, Twilight. Thank the stars you're alright."

"Where is everypony? Where am I?"

A gentle smile played at the earth pony’s mouth. "You're in the intensive care ward of Canterlot Castle. Everypony else is asleep. We've been by your bedside for two days now. Not even Pinkie was able to go that long without a little shuteye."

"Then, why aren’t they here?"

"Because I don’t mind sleeping in a chair; the rest of the girls need their beds after being awake for so long. Besides, I’m a light sleeper," Applejack smirked.

Twilight couldn’t help but crack a smile, but yesterdays events quickly drowned out the moment of joy and flooded her mind with remorse. “Applejack, I'm so sorry, for yesterday, for the apple stand, for everything. I'm just so sorry, I don't know what I was th—"

Applejack quickly, but gently, covered Twilight’s mouth. "Shhhh. Listen, sugarcube. No hard feelin's, ya hear?" Applejack withdrew her hoof with a reassuring smile. "Don't get me wrong, I'd like answers as much as everypony else, yourself included. But right now, that's not what's important to me."

"Really?" Twilight smiled as her eyes welled with tears.

"Absolutely, what's important is that we get you back on your hooves. And that means rest here,” she said as she put her hoof to Twilight’s shoulder.

“Here,” she continued as she moved the hoof to Twilight’s head.

“And here.” She smiled as her hoof rested on Twilight’s chest.

"We talked to the princesses, Twi. Celestia told us what you told her and I just want you to rest easy, so here goes: Twi, I'm not a pony for words. Me n’ them, we just don't—"

"They and I," Twilight deadpanned.

Applejack smirked and cocked an eyebrow. "Look who's feeling better already. Fine, 'they and I'. I guess what I wanted to say is that if there's anything you can count on, it's that the girls and I will always be there for you. Heck, if a promise from me doesn’t hold any weight, I don’t know what I got the Element of Honesty for.

Twilight sniffles and wiped the tears from her eyes. She wanted to say something meaningful, anything really. But all she could muster were apologetic smiles and tears of relief.

"I don't know what you were going through. Certainly didn't look pleasant when, uh, I last saw ya." Applejack lifted her hat and smoothed her mane with a hoof. "Well, anyway, the point is you're safe, we missed you, and I'm mighty glad you're back, Twi."

Twilight couldn’t tell what Applejack’s face looked like, it was an orange blob of color that jerked around every time she took a breath between sobs. "I'm so sorry. I thought you'd all turned on me! I'm so sorry, Applejack!"

Applejack quickly leaned over the bed and threw her arms around Twilight’s neck in a hug. "Me too, sugarcube, I'm sorry I said all those things after the race. Gosh darnit, Twi, don’t get sappy on me, I’ll start cryin’ too. It’s going to be okay, no need for cryin’."

"Heh, sorry."

"I understand, sugarcube, sometimes you just gotta get it out. Want me to get everypony else, or do you still need some rest?"

"I—" Twilight looked herself over briefly "I'll wait a while longer. I'm still feeling awful. Do you think you could undo the straps though? It’s kind of uncomfortable."

Applejack set to work on the bindings and smiled as the last one came free. "Alright, there you are, sugarcube. I'll let you be, but if you need anything, I'll be outside. I'll tell the others that you're doing alright."

"Thanks Applejack."

"No problem, what're friends for?" The earth pony said with a smile as she opened the door. “Oh and Twi?”

Twilight perked her ears and glanced over. “Hmm?”

“They look good on you. When they’re not covered in blood.”

“Huh?” Twilight muttered with a soft tilt of her head.

“Never you mind, Sugarcube. See you in a bit.”

The door clicked closed softly, leaving Twilight in her bed. She curled up under the blankets and tried as hard as she could to quiet her mind. Despite everything that had happened, she still didn’t know who was behind all this. She still didn’t know what would happen to her. She didn’t know why Celestia had relented and let her live, and if Equestria was in danger simply because she was alive.

Twilight cast a glance to the doorway. She tried not to think about how that fact would affect her friends. Twilight shook her head softly and pushed those thoughts from her mind, resolute in the belief that she was okay, and she’d make sure that her friends were as well.

Twilight‘s face cracked into a small smile as she rolled over and snuggled into her bed. As worrisome as the last few days were. Applejack was completely right: there’d be time to figure things out in the morning.

Author's Notes:

Huge thanks to all my editors, as always. Massive Credit goes to Kired25 of deviantart for making his bases free to use, and equal thanks to Comrade Sparkle: Overly Extensive Editor, Friend, and vector wizard. The header image would be a disaster if not for these two fine gentlepones.