"What did you just say, apprentice?" His frigid voice hissed like rusted iron.

"You heard me," Twilight heard herself defiantly reply. "I won't hurt her. I don't care what you offer me; I don't care what you threaten to do to me." Her hoof slammed on the cold crystal floor, echoing throughout the chamber. "I refuse to obey you, Sombra." Suddenly, her heart lurched. A dead chill ran through her blood. Staying on her hooves was a struggle. All but a drop of her energy was ripped out of her soul.

"You disappoint me, slave." He spoke to her with the same false reassurance as a butcher before the slaughter. "I cannot say this was not expected to some degree, but I find your little outburst disheartening still. Your magic was always the stronger." He bared a set of fangs in a snarling grin. "Though, of course, that weak heart of yours makes it waste of potential. Better it belong to someone who can use it without fear." He paused. "Or remorse."

Twilight looked ahead with dazed, blinded eyes. Less than ten feet away, stood an orange and red blur crowned by a halo of black and purple magic. "T-twilight," she whispered softly. The dark magic faded slightly. "Why didn't you-"

Her question was cut off callously. "Well, Miss Shimmer, what do you choose?"

"I-I," she heard the other mare stammer. Twilight couldn't see her face, but confusion and conflict were ringing in the mare's voice.

"Sunset," Twilight practically begged. "Sunset, please don't do this."

The monster's cackling turned to roaring. "I apologize, my dear. It seems as if your friend has made a decision much wiser than yours."

"S-Sunset?"

"Twilight, I'm sorry, but . . . "

The twisted magic pierced her gut. It wanted to torture her, burn her, destroy her. "Sunset!" Was that its wielder's true intentions? Twilight didn't know. Her bones sizzled like searing steel plunged into cold water. Her blood vessels shattered and reformed like glass. Hot tears ran down her face. All she could hear was his laughter and the chorus of her own screams. All she could do was wait for the nightmare to end.

"I'm just askin'," Applejack insisted. "Why the Crystal Guard set up this here blockade." Despite, the attempt to plaster a smile on her face, her polite pony act was wearing thin.

That fact was not lost on the massive earth pony, but all he did was sigh and shrug his shoulders. The magic shield behind him reflected the early afternoon sun. "Just my luck to get stuck taking complaints. Too klutzy to be anywhere but next to a barricade on a dirt road, too big to just be left alone."

"Looky here, Mr.-"

"Private Troubleshoes," he groaned.

"Mr. Private Troubleshoes," she continued. "All I'm wonderin' is why an apple cart can't get round the faster path to Hoofington without having to go and bother with Ponyville. It's a waste of time for everypony."

"Look Mrs.-"

"Just Orange, is fine."

"Mrs. Just Orange, I have my orders and now you have yours." Too large for any armor, only the angular, "S"- shaped brand on his chest marked him as a member of Sombra's Crystal Guard. For a depressing moment, she saw her brother instead of the stallion before her. "I suggest you get along to Ponyville," he said, interrupting her thoughts. "If y'all hurry, you can probably make it before sundown." Exasperated, she turned to go. "Wait." He reached into his saddlebag and handed her a sheet of paper. "Got orders to hand those out to every pony that stops by."

The sun was nearly at its zenith when Applejack returned to the empty crossroads. The broken signpost hung limply near the trees. "Twilight?" She whispered. "Where are you?"

There was a flash of light behind her. "No luck on the west path?"

The earth pony yelped in surprise. The lavender unicorn was wearing a hooded burlap cloak borrowed from the back of the apple cart. It covered anything distinctive about her: her tail, her main, her cutie mark. "Dagum' it, Twilight! Didn't anyone ever teach ya not to sneak up and teleport behind another pony?"

Actually, Twilight thought. I was taught the exact opposite. "I didn't teleport," she explained. "That was just a little invisibility." The unicorn gingerly touched her horn, remembering the nightmare. "I think teleporting will be out of my depth for a while. That trick alone was starting to wear on me before you came back."

Applejack pondered this for a second. "If you can disguise yerself with magic," she reasoned. "Then it shouldn't be too hard for you to get through a checkpoint."

Twilight shook her head. "Sorry, Applejack. Those anti-magic barriers are nothing to mess with. I should know. The unicorn who developed them was my . . ." She looked up at the earth pony's concerned face and realized that her voice had started cracking. She pushed any thoughts about him out of her mind. "He was my . . ." She tried to say anything besides the truth, but something kept the lies from coming out.

"Hey, Twilight," Pinkie yelled, suddenly running up behind her.

Applejack chuckled at the unicorn's reaction.

"Just checked the east path," the cheery pony continued obliviously. "A bunch of nice guard ponies were watching a blockade that way, but they gave me another cool wanted poster." She looked over at the dismayed purple unicorn. "Oh. Uh. Sorry, Twilight."

An odd look crossed the spellcaster's face. "Just my wanted poster?" she asked. "I'm the only mare who's so," she waved her hoof nervously while searching for the right word. "So high priority right now? No other deserters that they're searching for?"

"Just yours, Twilight," she answered. "Why do you ask?"

No matter what happened, this was not a good sign. Did Sunset escape? Twilight wondered. Was she captured? Twilight tried for the dozenth, desperate time to remember the end of her nightmare, but there was only darkness, a vacuous gap in her memory. Another, more chilling possibility came to mind. Did she even try to escape?

No use moping over the past, Sparkle. A voice from years ago snorted. What matters is that you're here now. All you can do is charge forward and never look back.

"Well," Applejack said, interrupting her thoughts. "I guess that only leaves us with one route to Everfree Forest: Ponyville."

Twilight shook her head vigorously. "No. There's no way I'll be able to get through there. We'll all get caught."

"You can't just stay out here," Applejack retorted. "The Guard is tightening the noose 'round these parts. Pretty soon they'll be more of them on the road than there are roosters in a warm hen house during wintertime."

Pinkie trotted over to her. "Applejack, if all she needs is a disguise, then we can just ask-"

"No-" the earth pony growled. "No matter how bad things seem right now, there's another way. We don't have to go and see . . . her!" She practically spat the last word. "I will never be that desperate!"

"Great," Pinkie replied. "I thought we were stuck in in the most heavy fortified part of Equestria with our super-wanted deserter-pony friend and a crazy king with a slave army who's Tartarus-bent on finding her; but if things aren't that bad, I must be wrong." She smiled.

Applejack stared at her stone-faced. "Pinkie Pie," she said finally. "I didn't know you, I'd swear you're being a smart-mouth."

"So," Twilight asked. "Who is this mare? Another friend of yours?" Applejack shot her an indignant glare. "Er. Or not a friend, I guess." She was the never the best at reading ponies. Books were more her speed. Most inter-personal relationships were beyond her comprehension.

"Let's just say we had a misunderstandin' a little while back," she said, starting on the main road to Ponyville. "I rather face a six-headed rattler in fire swamp than see her again, but if there's any pony who can get ya through the checkpoint unnoticed, it's her."

On the outside, the cabin was dilapidated. Since it was the only one for miles around in the woods, that was to be expected. The grey, weather-worn shutters hung crookedly next to shattered windows. The white paint sloppily plastered over the front was chipped. Paint chips the size maple leaves were scattered over the ground. Over the door-frame hung a rusted, indecipherable sign.

"When's the last time you actually saw this Rarity?" Twilight asked. "Ponies in the rebellion tend to disappear pretty often, and this place looks abandoned."

"Saw her sometime last winter," Applejack noncommittally responded. Golden autumn leaves crunched under their hooves.

"And her house always looks like this, Twilight," Pinkie reassured. "I'm sure she's super-duper fine." She paused to think. "Unless she isn't. In which case this is probably a uber-dangerous trap, but that could still be fun in a 'Noooooo! We're doomed kinda way,' right Applejack?"

"Delighted to see you haven't changed much, Miss Pie." The three mares jumped in surprise. A snow white unicorn stepped out of the dense thicket. Her luxurious, dark violet mane was almost completely free of twigs. Surprising given both the state of her home and the large bundle of firewood hovering beside her, levitated by her light blue magic.

"Why do you have to be so theatrical 'bout everything," Applejack snapped. "Don't anypony just walk up and say 'howdy' no more?"

She sighed and set the bundle by the door. "And you remain unchanged as well Applejack, lovely." Twilight was relieved. Animosity, passive, and aggressiveness, this was a dynamic she could understand. No ambiguities. No grey areas. No room for misinterpretations. "Now," the mare continued, gesturing to Twilight. "Are you going to introduce me to your new friend?"

Twilight hesitated, but ultimately lifted her hood. Rarity's face ran a gambit of emotions. Her brows leapt up in shock, then furrowed in confusion. At last, her eyes widened in comprehension, and a slightly smug grin settled. "Applejack, dear," she chuckled. "I knew you would come back to us eventually, but I honestly never expected-"

"I ain't no rebel, Rarity, and I never was!" she growled. "I would never go out of my way to endanger my family by chasin' after some hopeless cause." The words "like you" hung in the air unspoken.

"If that's the case," she responded in a controlled tone. "Then you certainly are in odd company."

"I'm just letting her travel with me to Everfree. I was heading there anyway; I spend winter 'round Ponyville every year. This is just an extra delivery of sorts. The only reason I came here is to ask for a little," she paused to swallow her bile. "A. Little. Help." She clenched her teeth. "We need to get through Ponyville unseen, and you have a certain talent for disguises."

Rarity stopped just short of rolling her eyes.

"Oh come on!" Applejack said defensively. "This ain't rebellion. It's . . . umm. Whatya call it?"

"Basic Equine-decency," Pinkie chimed in.

"Yeah, it's that. Ain't like I'm storming the castle or nothing."

"Yeah," Pinkie Pie agreed. "All we're doing is aiding the most wanted deserter in Equestria escape the entire army hunting her even though the scariest, shadowyiest monster who ever existed has promised to do Celestia-knows-what to whoever does! That's not rebellion, Rarity! It's just plain, old . . . ummm. Whadya call it?"

"Suicide," said Twilight and Applejack simultaneously, both suddenly blanching.

"Yeah," the oblivious optimist giggled. "That's it."

"Well, Ms. Twilight," Rarity reassured. "The situation may seem dire, but that doesn't mean we should just give up." She glared at Applejack. The words "like you" again went unspoken. "I may not look magical enough to draw the attention of those dastardly Crystal Recruiters, but I have more than a few tricks up my sleeve. It just so happens that I'm heading to Ponyville myself tomorrow morning. We can all go together."

"Over my dead-"

"After all," she interjected before Applejack could continue. "The more ponies in a group, the less attention the guards can pay to each, and after I'm finished with her disguise, all the attention in the world won't be able to buy your identity, Twilight."

"And your sure you can do all of this without magic," Twilight asked, skeptically. "I know how these guards are trained. If they suspect anything, even for a moment . . ." She shuddered. "You're taking a gigantic risk."

"Trust me, dear." Rarity's sapphire eyes gazed somberly beyond the trees, but her voice remained uplifted. "I gamble with my fate every day, and I know what happens when a rebel's luck finally runs out. If anypony thinks that will stop me from helping my friends, then they are betting on the wrong horse."

"But," Twilight pressed. "The Crystal Guard knows I escaped Canterlot, and Ponyville is the closest town by a hundred miles. You would march through what must be the most heavily guarded place in Equestria to help a stranger?"

Rarity took a long look at Twilight. Then, she slowly walked over and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Twilight Sparkle," she said. "I can't claim to know what you've been through, but I can understand if you have trouble believing me. Most ponies do actually. I show a little generosity, and it's so foreign to them that they're convinced I'm setting them up for something malicious. I can't blame them, of course. Parents warn their foals not to trust anypony, to watch out for the Unmarked Guard. Any suspicious-acting pony, especially a unicorn, could be an agent. My parents taught my sister and I the exact same lesson, but they also told us to help others whenever we could." She leaned her head closer. "They told me that if we ponies stand for one another, then we could make a better world for ourselves. That was their rebellion." A smile spread across her serious face. "And helping you, darling, is a part of mine."

Twilight was speechless. All she could manage was a muttered, "Thank you."

"Well, enough standing around." Rarity's light blue aura opened the door. "It's time for your makeover."

"Wait a minute. Sleeping over, makeovers, secret plotting." Pinkie gasped. "A slumber party!!" She grabbed Twilight and rushed inside, leaving a cloud Pinkie-shaped dust behind. Rarity trotted over to join them. "Feel free to come inside when you're finished setting up your cart for the night. Oh," she added sheepishly. "I know its almost the end of the season, but it's been forever since I've had a little something from Sweet Apple Acres. Ever since our . . . disagreement, you stopped coming this way." She coughed awkwardly.

"Well," Applejack drawled. "It might be nice to make one last sale before winter." She grabbed a few wizened apples from the covered wagon. "But don't think this means I forgive you for what happened 'tween me and you rebels."

"Thank you, Applejack. I didn't think it would." She turned to enter the doorway. "Oh," she added. "Do be a dear and wipe your hooves before you enter. It pains me enough to keep the outside of this cabin looking so dreadful. I couldn't bear to see the same thing happen to the interior." With that, she slammed the door shut.

Applejack stood contemplating for a few minutes. "Eyup," she groaned to no pony in particular. "I'd take that six-headed rattler in a fire-swamp any day."

Author's Note

This will be the routine for now. One Equestria chapter followed by one "Earth" chapter. (Did EQG ever say the name of the human world? If they did or if the fans came up with an unofficial pun, just tell me in the comments.) That tangent aside, comments are as welcome as always. I can't tell you how much your feedback means to me. The fact that people care enough to post something is a huge motivator. Even if you choose not to, thank you for reading.