Three little ponies wept in a clubhouse, and three little ponies swore an accord. They would do anything to prevent that terrible future.

But first, they needed a plan.

~~~

Twilight Sparkle disappeared a month before The Change.

Spike woke up in the morning with a small pile of gems tucked in next to him, with a note from Twilight saying that she would be back in two weeks time, that she had to do some special research, and to keep the library clean.

Spike grumbled and didn't think anything of it.

Twilight didn't write that note.

~~~

Sweetie Belle stood next to the open window. Owlowicious, for all his verbal eccentricities, may as well have been a clockwork owl. Every night, at precisely 11:45 PM, he would go out and hunt for precisely one hour. One hour in which the only occupants of the library were a dead to the world baby dragon, and a purple unicorn straining to keep her eyes open just a little bit longer.

Sweetie sighed, and began the performance.

"Hush, now, quiet now,

It's time to lay your sleepy head,

Hush, now, quiet now,

It's time to go to bed."

Her voice was a gentle river, and the over-studious unicorn began to float away with it.

"Drift, drift off to sleep

The exciting day behind you,

Drift, drift off to sleep

Let the joy of dreamland find you."

Twilight finally did fall asleep to the last notes of the lullaby.

When she woke up, she was blindfolded, gagged, tied up, and had some magic restricting device clamped onto her horn. She fought the urge to struggle wildly, and instead cautiously tested the strength of her restraints.

"Hey there Twilight," said a voice.

Twilight recognized that voice. It was Apple Bloom!

"Hey Twilight," echoed another two.

Ah, and that had to be the other two Crusaders. She was saved!

"We're awful sorry," said Apple Bloom. "I would've preferred if you hadn't woken up for this."

Twilight's heart skipped a beat. Nothing good could come of that statement.

"If it doesn't work, we'll make sure Spike is looked after," continued Apple Bloom.

At this, Twilight began frantically squirming and wriggling, but the ropes held fast, the blindfold stayed on and the gag stayed in.

"Splrnhcth," said Apple Bloom.

Twilight felt a terrible tearing sensation in her brain, and then nothing at all.

"Did it work, Apple Bloom?" Scootaloo asked.

Apple Bloom nodded, closing the disturbing spell book with a shudder before quickly bandaging the wounds on her forelegs.

"You do have phase two ready, right Scootaloo?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's in the box over there. I swear you picked me for that just because of what happened on the sleepover at Fluttershy's."

Sweetie Belle untied Twilight and removed the twenty-five horn pacifiers they had "borrowed" from the local day-care.

Between the three of them, they managed to get the drooling Twilight arranged in a decent pose, staring at a flap in the side of the box.

Scootaloo opened the flap, and Twilight Sparkle became a statue for the second time in her life.

~~~

Three little ponies slept uneasily in a treehouse, wondering if good intentions were really an excuse.