My Little Proletariat

Most days, Twilight would be quite happy to spend her waking hours in the library, surrounded by her books. But now the place felt like a prison, closing in around her.

The morning had not gone to plan. She'd got up early (for her, anyway) and was ready to help Spike make breakfast before another bustling day in Ponyville -- except the dragon was nowhere to be found. Unpeturbed, she decided she'd pack up some books and deliver them to Cheerilee before class started. Only, something had happened down at the school, and nopony would tell her what. But it was bad, whatever it was, and her mind was connecting dots that she'd rather leave unconnected.

The nice young pegasus  -- what did he say his name was? -- had brought her back to the library, asked if there was anypony he could call. (Which, she thought now, was another bad sign. You never asked someone if there was anypony you could call unless something serious was going down.) And then, when she said she'd be alright, he left her.

The next hour had been an ordeal. She'd paced back and forth, waiting for Cheerilee to burst through the door and say it had all been a terrible mistake, nothing was wrong, the police were just here on a formality. But when the door did open, it was a Canterlot guard (Royal guardponies? And flying police? In Ponyville?) telling her that she was under house arrest.

That was the point she knew -- really knew, beyond doubt -- that something terrible had happened to Cheerilee.

Whatever the guardpony had been told to expect, it appeared he hadn't expected her to break down into tears. He at least had the decency to look embarrassed as he told her if there was anything she needed, she should ask him, and closed the door again.

She'd spent the next few hours alternately crying, trying to read (anything to take her mind off of what was happening out there), and drafting letters to the Princess. None of them had helped. Occasionally she heard the guards talking, to each other, or to passers-by who wanted to know what was going on. Generally they said the same thing over and over: "Nothing to see here, keep moving." Sometimes she heard someone mention her name. Either way, no one got past them.

She was starting her fifth letter to the Princess, hoping this time she wouldn't drop tears into the ink and smudge it, when she heard the muffled click of her bedroom window opening. She paused, quill at the ready, listening.

No other sound.

She was sure she hadn't imagined it, though. She turned back to her letter, only to find that her quill had bled a spidery line of ink down the margin.

"Oh...oh dammit," she muttered, screwing it up and adding it to the pile of unfinished drafts in the corner. She stood, stretching, and made her way to the stairs. Her mind was frayed already, and she wouldn't be able to concentrate until she'd confirmed that she was the only pony in the building. Plus, the walk would do her good.

Hooves grabbed her before she reached the stairs. She drew breath to cry out, but someone covered her mouth.

"None of that," said Rainbow Dash. "This is supposed to be a stealthy rescue mission."

Twilight mumbled around the hoof in her mouth. The pegasus gave her a look, and withdrew it.

"Rainbow," Twilight whispered. "What're you doing here? Why are there guards on my door? Why're the police in town? *What happened to Cheerilee*?"

Rainbow Dash kept an eye on the front door. "Police, huh?" she asked. "That's news to me. All I know is that suddenly there's a lot of guards in town and they have you and Spike under house arrest."

"But I haven't seen Spike all morning. He wasn't here when I woke up."

Rainbow Dash scratched her head. "Huh," she said. "Weird. Well, anyway, both of you are apparently under wraps on suspicion of murder, of all things."

Twilight's eyes went wide. "Murd-mrph!"

Dash gave her a glare, removing her hoof from the unicorn's mouth a second time. "Stealthy, remember?"

There was a knock at the door. "Everything fine in there?" one of the guards called out.

"Uh, sure!" said Twilight, glancing nervously at Rainbow Dash. "Everything's good!"

"Come on," said Rainbow Dash, "we gotta scram before they work out what's up."

The two of them crept up the stairs to her bedroom. Fluttershy was flattened against the far wall, watching the street below through an open window.

"Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. "How did you guys even get in here?"

Fluttershy glanced at the two of them. "Rainbow Dash did it," she said. She looked at the ground. "I provided moral encouragement."

"I may once have been a teenage delinquent," Dash said, trying hard to sound modest.

"So you *broke into* my house?"

"Hey! We're rescuing you, aren't we?"

"I guess," said Twilight.

There was a shout from downstairs. "Too late," said Rainbow Dash. "Somepony had to investigate." She turned to Fluttershy. "How's the road outside?"

The pegasus risked a peek. "All clear," she said.

"Right," said Dash. "Twi, if you'll come with us," and she lifted the unicorn bodily by one forehoof.

"Hey!" said Twilight. "What're you-"

Fluttershy grabbed her other forehoof and she was half-carried over to the window. Hoofs clomped on the stairs behind.

"If I really wanted to get out-" started Twilight.

"No time!" said Rainbow Dash. "Explain later!" She exchanged looks with Fluttershy. "On three, OK? One...two..."

The door to the room flew open. An out-of-breath guardpony stood there, chest heaving. "In the name of the..." He took in the scene - two pegasi carrying Twilight out the window by her forehooves.

Two very familiar-looking pegasi.

His eyes narrowed. "You!"

"Three!"

And the three ponies leapt from the window.

"I still don't get why I couldn't have just used magic," Twilight muttered, as the three of them took shelter in a disused coal bin.

"They're Canterlot guards," Rainbow Dash whispered. "They're used to dealing with magic. They probably had wards all over that library, telling them if you used magic, or even preventing you doing it in the first place. Wings, though? Much harder to stop."

Fluttershy had the lid of the bin open a crack, watching the guards outside running back and forth. Several were up in the air or perched on rooftops, ready to intercept anyone attempting to fly out of the village. Rainbow Dash, on her own, would have stood a chance. Dash and Fluttershy, plus cargo: not so much.

"So what's the plan now?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow Dash had the decency to look embarrassed. "Really? I hadn't thought it through past the whole 'Rescue you from the Library' stage."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Fluttershy?"

"Hiding's good," the pegasus volunteered, eyes still on the street. "I like hiding."

"At some point they're going to work out we aren't running," Twilight said, "and then it's only a matter of time. Rainbow, you know a suspicious amount about what Canterlot guards can do -- would they detect my magic if I used it out here?"

"Maybe?" Dash said. "I don't know. This is just what I know from when I was in rallies and stuff as a filly. But they didn't seem to have any problem with catching unicorns, any more than they did with earth ponies or pegasi." She shrugged. "Your call."

"No magic, then," Twilight said. "And if Fluttershy says there's pegasi on the rooftops, no flying. No flying, no magic. And here we are, a unicorn and two pegasi."

"We could..." said Fluttershy. "We could make a run for the forest."

"For Everfree?" Twilight said.

"It's large enough. We could hide in there for months."

"And it's not like they could put a cordon around the whole thing," Rainbow Dash said.

"Could we get there without being spotted?" Twilight asked.

"We could get to my place," Fluttershy said. "From there it's not too far to run. We'd get spotted between there and the forest edge, but it'd probably be too late for them to catch us."

Twilight considered it.

"Anyone got any better ideas?" she asked.

Silence from the rest of the coal bin.

"OK," she said, "let's do this."

The three of them exited the coal bin as quietly as possible, keeping to whatever shadows they could in the early-afternoon sun. Rainbow Dash lead the way, behind bins and down side streets.

For a minute or two, Twilight really thought it was going to work.

"Hey, you!"

The three of them turned. A guard pony was looking at them out a window. He turned his head. "I found them!" he yelled.

"Change of plan!" said Rainbow Dash, bolting for an alleyway. "Hoof it!"

They almost made it.

Even Twilight knew Ponyville better than the guards, but the fact remained that there were three of them, and a lot of guard ponies. Halfway to the edge of town, dodging between trash cans and carts as they raced down narrow side-streets, she realised they weren't being chased.

They were being herded.

There was no one right on their tails, but they could hear the sounds of pursuit behind them. The guards were always a couple of streets back. Rainbow Dash tried to double-back twice, and both times she came face-to-face with guards and was forced onwards in a blur of sooty cyan. It was all Twilight and Fluttershy could do to keep up.

They managed to make it to one of the parks on the edge of the village, and by dashing from bush to bush they even got within sight of Fluttershy's house and the start of the Everfree. But the guards were prepared: four burly pegasi were standing at the edge of the Forest, scanning the village.

"We're done for," said Rainbow Dash. "They'll spot us if we bolt." There were shouts from back toward Ponyville proper, guard ponies calling out to each other.

"They're rounding us up," said Twilight, "they never meant to catch us in the first place. They just wanted to make us run until we couldn't run any further." Her eyes narrowed, judging the distance. "I might be able to get past them with my magic," she said. "It's a bit far...but they know we're here anyway..."

She closed her eyes. A glow enveloped her horn. Sputtered. Died.

"Hey!" she cried. "That's not supposed to happen."

"I told you," Rainbow said. "They're used to dealing with unicorns."

"Well," said Twilight, hanging her head, "I'm out of options."

Rainbow sighed. "We're done for."

"There…there is one way you could get out," Fluttershy said.

The two other ponies turned to look at her.

"If there's something to draw them away from the edge of the forest, you could make a run for it."

Twilight's brow furrowed. "What sort of...wait, what do you mean, we could make a run for it?"

"Oh no," said Rainbow Dash. "No no no. That's not happening."

Fluttershy stood up. "Rainbow? You know how you said somepony had sold you out?"

"Wait, what? I guess. What does this have to do with anything?"

"You were right."

"I...was? Who?"

Fluttershy looked at her hooves. "I did."

Twilight and Rainbow Dash exchanged looks of disbelief.

"You did?" Rainbow asked.

"Rarity...she said if I didn't do what she asked, she'd let them know I hadn't cooperated. They'd come, they'd kill the animals, they'd burn down my house." She looked up. She was crying. "I didn't know what else to do."

The two of them stared at her.

"I'm sorry," she said.

And then she burst out of the bushes and ran down the hill, parallel to the edge of the Everfree.

The guards at the forest edge shouted, and two took to the air. Several more charged from the village, all intent on the yellow pegasus.

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"No time," Twilight said, grabbing the pegasus. "We've got to move."

"But we can't let them take her, Twilight!"

"We can't save her now, Dash! She knew what she was doing. If we don't go now, it's all for nothing."

There was a moment of silence, as she watched Fluttershy gallop down the hill. Then she turned to face Twilight. Her eyes were red.

“Fine,” she said.

The two of them bolted for the Everfree.

It was getting dark when they stopped running. Twilight was gasping for breath. Even Rainbow Dash looked somewhat puffed.

By Twilight's best estimate, they'd left the guards behind long ago. There were just too many places to hide in the Everfree Forest. Any number of  dangerous beasts as well, yes, but beggars can't be choosers.

As she stood there, legs splayed and panting, she felt the adrenaline leave her. It had kept her going these past few hours as the two of them dodged tree branches and vaulted streams, with the sound of the Royal Guards behind them growing dimmer and dimmer, but now it flowed out of her body like water seeping out of a broken bottle.

She started to sob in between ragged breaths. Rainbow Dash, who'd been doing laps around the clearing and trying to work out their best route forward, looked over in concern. "Hey, Twi," she said. "You OK?"

Twilight staggered forward, found a convenient tree root, and collapsed against it, head in her hooves. The pegasus trotted over and wrapped her in a hug. "It's OK now, we lost them. We'll be fine," she said.

"F-..." Twilight drew a deep breath. "Fluttershy isn't fine," she managed. "Cheerilee isn't fine. Ponyville isn't fine."

Rainbow Dash patted her shoulder, staring off into the dark of the Everfree. "But *we're* fine. That's better than nothing, right?"

Twilight pushed her away. "It's not fine!" she said. "How come we get to get away, huh? Where's the justice in that? I turn up in Ponyville, I make some friends, and suddenly everything turns to crap! And do I do anything? No! I write a letter, because apparently that's all I'm good for, making lists and writing letters. And then when the guards decide to come and mess up everyone's lives and be dicks about it, I end up hiding in my library and it takes my friends to come and rescue me and then one of them sacrifices herself so I can get away and I don't even think about it twice and I just leave her there and *Cheerilee's dead Rainbow Dash!* Cheerilee's dead!" And the unicorn collapsed against Rainbow Dash in a fit of tears.

Dash thought quickly. She wasn't any good at this sort of thing. *This was...is...what Fluttershy was good at*, she thought. *She'd know what to do*.

"Hey," she managed. "Uh, look, what Fluttershy did for you, she wanted you to escape, right? She wanted somepony to get out. You said it yourself. If we hadn't run, it'd be all for nothing. Right?"

"But why, Rainbow? Why?"

"Because she was being blackmailed, Twilight. She was telling Celestia and her guards everything that was going on in Ponyville, because otherwise that stuck-up bitch of a unicorn would get her imprisoned or exiled or killed or worse-"

"Rainbow..."

"-and when I see Rarity again I'll take her self-righteous dress-making horn and shove it right up-"

"Rainbow!"

Dash looked down.

"My ribs."

"Oh. Ah, sorry." The pegasus loosened her grip on Twilight.

The two of them settled down on the edge of the clearing. The sun was going down over Ponyville (or, Twilight thought, where Ponyville would be if they could see further than twenty feet in this forest). Its last rays were spearing through the treetops, but down here at ground level it was already getting chilly.

"Well," Twilight said, smiling and wiping the tears from her eyes, "you sure now how to make a girl stop crying."

"Kinda hard to tear up and fight for breath at the same time, huh?" Dash grinned nervously. She kicked at the dust, unsure how to continue. Twilight stared into the forest, gaze lost in the branches.

“I, uh, I'm sorry to hear about Cheerilee,” said Rainbow. “We were never really close and all, but she was a good teacher, you know?"

"She was," Twilight said, eyes fixed on the middle distance. It was peaceful, sitting there. You could almost forget your worries.

Almost.

“You know how long it took her to work out teaching was her passion?" she asked Rainbow Dash.

"How long?"

"Years. She spent one summer convinced she was going to grow up to be a sunflower farmer."

"Seriously? Hold on, people farm sunflowers?"

"Sure. She ended up travelling all the way to Fillydelphia..."

As the two of them swapped stories, Twilight felt her heart lift slightly. It was cold, it was dark, they were on the run from the law, lost somewhere in the Everfree Forest with no food and no plan, but they had each other. And as they reminisced about Cheerilee, the bundle of knots that had been sitting in her stomach since that morning started to unravel. It didn't go away -- that would take weeks, she thought -- but it sat more comfortably than it had.

The sun gradually set as they talked. The moon was well risen when the stories ran out, and they trailed off into silence. Twilight looked up at it. Even now Luna had returned, you could still trace out the outline of a mare's head.

"You know," she said to Rainbow Dash, "'mare' used to mean 'sea', once upon a time..."

"Twi," said Dash. “Hey, Twilight, is there a glow over there in the forest?"

"Huh?"

Rainbow Dash pointed with her hoof. "Over there, behind that tree. I could swear there's a glow."

Twilight looked. A purplish after-image of the moon swam in front of her eyes, wavering and fading. As she grew accustomed to the darkness, she became aware of her surroundings: black branches and boughs overlaid on black undergrowth. And there, behind them...

It flickered, firelight diffused by the vegetation. Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash. "A traveller?" she asked.

"In the Everfree?" Rainbow Dash said.

"Ponies travel through the Everfree," said Twilight. "Some ponies live in the Everfree."

Rainbow Dash stood up. "Could be guards. We should investigate."

Twilight stood. "Dash," she said.

"Yeah?"

"....thanks."

The pegasus grinned. "No sweat," she said.

The two of them crept through the undergrowth. As they got closer, they heard a voice, somepony muttering to themselves. A row of brambles separated them from the fire, and Rainbow Dash hunkered down, crawling forward on her belly. Twilight followed suit, brambles and burrs catching in her coat. She pushed a branch or two gently out of her way with her forelimbs - the glow of her magic would give her away in the dark of the night. Then, in front of her, she heard a muffled gasp, and Dash moved to one side to let her see.

It was a fire, alright, a whole heaping of undergrowth and tree limbs, dried out by the long summer and crackling merrily. A unicorn was standing next to the fire, pulling bundles of papers and scrolls from a set of saddlebags and throwing them into the flames. With each mouthful, the fire shot up, lighting the clearing with a yellow-white light.

The unicorn was Rarity. She looked tattered and worn down, and there was a trail of blood running down one leg, but it was undoubtedly Rarity. And she was holding a decidedly heated conversation with herself.

"Blasted Party and their politics," she was muttering, in between mouthfuls of paper. "Why can't they keep their petty power struggles in Canterlot where they belong? I was doing so well down here, too, and they have to go and mess everything up. It's those Goddess-damned pegasi, I bet, hot-heads the lot of them. Probably got wind that some ponies in Ponyville didn't like the distribution of power or something and decided they needed some showing who's who. Honestly, the nerve. How they ever got considered a civilisation is anyone's guess."

There was a growl next to Twilight. Rainbow's wings were flared, her eyes narrowed. She laid a hoof on the pegasus' shoulder. This was starting to get interesting.

Rarity had finished with one bag and was opening the second. Scrolls and letters fell out onto the forest floor, and her horn glowed as she swept them into the fire. A shower of sparks shot out the other side as they caught.

"Don't know why I even bothered joining their stupid conspiracy," she muttered to herself. "I mean, honestly, what sort of secret society can't even keep its members in line? 'Oh no, Rarity, you should have received everything you need to know from our contact.'" A particularly large bundle of papers caught on one of the buckles, and Rarity braced her forehooves on the saddle-bag, ripping it in half. She spat them into the flames. "It probably was Twilight, and she just forgot. I guess it's hard to remember things if they don't have a Dewey Decimal number."

"Right, that's it!" said Twilight, standing up. Rarity spun around, a bunch of documents in her mouth. She back-pedalled towards the fire, horn glowing. Rainbow Dash emerged from the bushes like colourful greased lightning, barrelling into the unicorn in a shower of paper. The two rolled across the clearing, ending up against a tree root some yards away, with Rainbow Dash on top.

Twilight trotted over. Rarity looked up at the two of them. "Rainbow Dash! Twilight!" she said, trying to regain hold of the situation, "fancy meeting you out here!"

"Out hunting us, were you?" Rainbow Dash said, chest heaving. "Ready to turn in another pony to your masters?"

"I have no idea what you mean," Rarity replied. Her eyes darted to Twilight, latching on, begging her to intervene. Twilight, for her part, stood to one side. She was happy to let this play out.

"Oh yeah?" said the pegasus. "Did Fluttershy have any idea what you meant, or did she just get dragged into this whole mess because you thought it'd be fun having a pegasus do the dirty work for you?"

"My dear, the last time I saw Fluttershy, she was-"

"Last time I saw Fluttershy she was being dragged away by Palace guards, sacrificing herself so we could get away! Unless you saw her after that, I suggest you keep your mouth shut!"

Rarity's eyes widened. "They...Rainbow, I'm so sorry-"

Rainbow Dash struck her, a cuff with her forehoof, right across the jawline. "You used her!" she shouted, "you used her and then when she wasn't any use to you any more you *threw her away*! And now you've got the gall to say you're-"

Twilight laid a hoof on the pegasus' shoulder. Dash broke off, looking at her.

She held Dash's gaze for a long moment. The fire crackled, sending sparks into the sky.

The pegasus was the first to break off, lowering her head. "I'm gonna scout the perimeter," she said, "make sure, we uh...yeah." She trotted to the centre of the clearing, before turning back to Twilight.

"When I'm back," she said, "she'd better be gone." Then the pegasus sprang into the air. With a powerful downstroke of her wings, she flew into the night.

A semblance of silence returned to the clearing, marred by the quiet pop and hiss of burning paper. Twilight sat down, near enough to Rarity that the two could talk, but far enough that she was aware: Twilight was most definitely not on her side. Rarity shook herself and combed the worst of the undergrowth out of her coat, before settling down again.

The two of them stared into the fire. Now no one was feeding it, it had died down somewhat, but it still gave off more than enough light. Logs crackled and burned. Occasionally a pocket of sap would ignite with a pop.

Rarity sighed. "I really have stuffed this up, haven't I?" she asked.

Twilight kept silent.

"When I joined, you know," Rarity continued, tracing patterns in the dirt with her forehoof, "well, I though it'd be good. Constructive. Finding out what's happening in Canterlot, spreading the word for the Princess. Ahem. Princesses. I didn't know they'd be into...well..." she waved her hoof in the air. "Secret meetings. Death threats. Taking ponies away for questioning."

"Did you do the thing with the mannequin in the barn?" Twilight asked. "At Sweet Apple Acres?"

Rarity sighed. “Yes, that was me. Well, me and Fluttershy. I left the party early enough to stage the break in and set up the rope, and Fluttershy did the rest. I was going to come back and blend in with the crowd, make my alibi watertight, but I understand somepony caused a scene and made things end a little earlier than usual." She gave Twilight a level look.

Twilight refused to take the bait. "And Fluttershy just went along with this plan?"

Rarity dropped her gaze. "I did have to persuade her a little bit," she said.

"And the morning after? At Carousel? You were trying to work out if I was in on your little game, weren't you?"

"Twilight, you're Princess Celestia's personal student! I was certain you were one of us."

"And then when I wasn't, you lied to me and manipulated my feelings."

She looked up at that. "What would you have me do, tell you the truth? 'Oh, Twilight, I just thought you'd be in on this government conspiracy too.' I'm sure that'd have gone much better."

The fire had settled down properly now. The paper had finished burning and now it was content to slowly feed on the sun-dried wood that made up the pile proper. It'd take some time, sure, but if there was anything the fire had, it was time.

Twilight watched the flames, ignoring the pony to her right. One half of her was shocked that Rarity would be a part of something so...so coldly manipulative. One part of Twilight, however, merely whispered to her: *I told you so. This is where friends get you...*

She shook her head. "So," she said, breaking the silence. "The Party."

"Ugh, I hate that term," said Rarity.

"Well, what's it really called?"

The white unicorn paused.

"Oh, come on," said Twilight, "Ponyville's under martial law right now, there's guards probably going through my library, Fluttershy's been taken away for goddess-knows-what, Ch-" she paused, swallowed, continued, "Cheerilee's dead-"

"Cheerilee's dead?"

Twilight tried to speak. The words caught in her throat. If she opened her mouth now, she knew, she'd lose it. She couldn't lose it right now, not in front of Rarity, not like this.

She looked at the ground, and nodded.

"Oh, Twilight, I'm so sorry." Rarity got up, started to cross the distance between them, but Twilight held up a hoof. She sat back down. "That wasn't me, please, believe me. Whatever else happened in Ponyville, that wasn't me."

"Why-" Twilight swallowed again, took a deep breath. "Why do you care?" she asked. "She's only an *earth pony*." She glared at Rarity. *Come on,* she thought, *say the wrong thing, right now, I* dare *you.*

Rarity didn't say a thing. Tears were threatening Twilight's eyes. She blinked them away, looked up. Rarity was looking at the ground.

"Is that what you think I'm like?" the white unicorn said softly.

"You've been keeping secrets from us," Twilight said. "You've been trying to manipulate me. Even that first night, you were trying to get in my good books." *As we call them these days*. "Why *wouldn't* I think that's what you're like?"

Rarity sighed. "I guess...I guess I can see why. Why you think that. But it isn't me. I promise."

"It isn't?" Twilight asked, getting to her hooves and stalking over to her. "Then who is it, Rarity? Because from where I'm standing, it looks an awful lot like you! You lie! You blackmail! You cheat! You make wild accusations!" Her horn glowed, and Rarity found herself lifted off the ground, hanging in front of Twilight. As the purple unicorn stalked forward, she was pushed backwards, away from the fire, closer to the dark edge of the forest. "You think anypony without a horn might as well be corralled with the livestock! You're willing to bend over backwards just so we don't know what horrid things you're doing!"

"Fine!" Rarity cried. "I'm a bad pony! I admit it! I got into this mess and I was too weak to get out of it! I thought if I'd at least play along they'd leave me alone, but they just wanted me to do more for them! I'm sorry, *I'm sorry*!" She flailed, her hooves finding nothing but thin air. "I'll be a better pony, I promise, just don't kill me!"

The glow around Twilight's horn vanished. Rarity slumped to the ground. Twilight looked down at her, her face a mixture of pity and disgust. "Kill you?" she asked.

"They were going to," Rarity said. "The Party. They thought I was a liability. They sent someone into Carousel Boutique to take care of everything." She took a breath. "So I ran. I ran and now I don't know what to do."

Twilight looked at her, usually so composed, sitting there staring at her hooves and sniffing occasionally. Some part of her heart reached out to her, even now.

"Who are they?" she said quietly.

"They...they call themselves the Committee to Re-elect the Princess," Rarity said. "I don't know who's involved - I only know about Fluttershy and myself. There's a pony I can talk to in Ponyville, he takes messages to and from the higher-ups in Canterlot. That's all I know."

"Does Celestia know?"

"Twilight...Celestia runs the Committee."

Twilight shook her head. "No...the Princess wouldn't do something like that." She stood up and paced in front of the fire. "Celestia's nice, Rarity. She taught me how to do magic and how to sew and how to properly cite conference proceedings. When I was sick she'd sit and read to me rather than hold evening court. She wouldn't do this. Something's not right." She looked at Rarity. "I need to go to Canterlot. I need to find out what's happened."

"Didn't they put you under house arrest? They'll be looking for you."

"Well. I'll just have to be careful then."

"Twilight, you won't even be able to get into the city! They'll have guards on every gate."

Rarity paused, biting her lip.

Twilight waited.

"They'll kill me for telling you this." She looked around, just in case Party agents were spying on her here, in the middle of the Everfree. Then she leaned in closer.

"The Committee is always on the look-out for double agents. When I joined, they told me how to get in touch with Canterlot higher-ups. In case I had something I didn't want my handler to know. But...they'll watch you every step of the way. I don't know if it'll be of any use."

Twilight smiled. "Once I'm inside, I'm sure I can think of something." She trotted over to the unicorn and sat down - not right next to her, but closer than before.

"Tell me, Rarity," she said.

They knew they were approaching a band of ponies long before they saw them through the trees. Applejack noted that the birdsong had cut out ahead of them, and told Granny Smith and the fillies to get off the path.

A few minutes later, the refugees struggled into view. Big Macintosh took the lead, shouldering through undergrowth and blazing a trail for the ponies behind him. Some carried possessions in saddle-bags. Some, it seems, hadn't had the time to pack.

At the sight of her brother, Applejack let out a breath. She stepped out onto the path. "It's only us," she called.

Some of the ponies started, but Big Mac merely looked up and snorted. "Rest up," he called back. "We'll take a break for a bit." The group shuffled to a halt behind him, and ponies started to drift to the edges of the path, sitting down and talking in low voices.

Applejack trotted up to Big Mac. "What's the news?" she asked quietly.

He looked over the refugees behind him, then nodded further up the path. The two of them walked, talking quietly between themselves.

"What's up with them?" Apple Bloom asked as she sat down on the path.

"Probably discussing serious adult things," Sweetie Belle said, pulling at her mane with her hooves. They'd gone through a clearing full of lopseed five minutes ago, and she was still finding burrs in her fur.

"Yeah," added Scootaloo. "Boring adult things. Like...taxes, and, uh, politics."

Sweetie Belle paused in her combing to give the pegasus a glare. "Or maybe the whole whatever-it-was that Applejack was so concerned about?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah, that thing."

"But what're all these ponies doin' in the Everfree?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Guards!"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle whirled around. Scootaloo made a beeline for a bush, relying on her newly-found powers of stealth to save her. Pinkie Pie emerged from the undergrowth behind them, pulling twigs from her mane.

"Pinkie Pie?" Sweetie Belle asked. "What're you doing here?"

"Oh, the usual," Pinkie Pie said. "There were guards all over Ponyville, so Big Macintosh started rounding up all the ponies on the outskirts and said he knew somewhere they could go, and I tagged along!"

"That's the usual?" asked Scootaloo, struggling out of a bush.

"Well, not really. But what're you up to? Did you get out too?"

"Nah," said Apple Bloom. "Ah was up at the old still with Applejack."

"We followed her!" volunteered Scootaloo.

"Why're there guards in Ponyville?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I don't know," Pinkie Pie said. "Probably boring adult stuff."

"I told you!" said Scootaloo.

"Pinkie," Sweetie Belle said, "what were the guards doing?"

"Oh, rounding ponies up. Saying the whole place was cordoned off. Telling ponies they couldn't leave. Celestia's orders or something. Like I said: booooring." She pulled a face, illustrating exactly how boring she found the concept of a functional village-wide house arrest.

"Did you see Rarity?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Is Rarity alright?"

"Ooh! Rarity! I'd almost forgotten!" Pinkie grinned. "I did see her, don't worry! She got out, but now she might be lost. I should probably go find her."

Sweetie Belle's face lit up. "I could-"

"Nuh-uh!" Pinkie shook her head. "You fillies better stay right here with the grown-ups. We don't want you getting in any trouble, do we?"

Sweetie Belle's face fell. "Well, I guess...."

"And we definitely don't want you sneaking away and trying to infiltrate Canterlot to work out why this whole thing is happening. Because that would be bad. Very bad."

"Hold on," Scootaloo said, "you *don't* want us sneaking off-"

"Noooooo," said Pinkie. "That would be bad."

"You said that already," said Apple Bloom.

"Did I? Oh." The earth pony sat down, biting her lip. "Oh, right, Rarity! Don't worry," she said to Sweetie Belle, "I'll find your sister!" And she bounded off into the bushes.

The three of them sat in a circle. Applejack and Big Mac were still talking to each other. By the looks of it, they were having a disagreement that they wanted to keep as quiet as possible.

Sweetie Belle pulled at her fringe again, before sighing and letting it spring back. "I sure hope Rarity's OK," she said.

"She'll be fine," said Apple Bloom. "She's a grown-up mare. She can take care of herself."

"Hold on," said Scootaloo. "She said she *didn't* want us sneaking into Canterlot and finding out what this is about."

"Yup."

The pegasus scratched her head. "That's awfully specific."

Sweetie Belle shot Apple Bloom a worried glance. "So," she said hurriedly, "what do you think AJ and Big Mac are-"

"Hold on!" said Scootaloo, her eyes widening. Sweetie Belle winced. "Why don't we go to Canterlot and find out what's going on?"

Sweetie Belle closed her eyes. "That's a terrible idea."

"But we're ninjas! We can sneak in, unobserved!"

"Scootaloo," Apple Bloom said, "we ain't ninjas. We're a bunch of fillies, and if we try to sneak into Canterlot we'll be caught and tossed in the dungeon."

"But I got my cutie mark in not being seen!"

The two other fillies stared at her. Scootaloo's grin faded. "We can at least go have a look?" she asked.

"Hold on," said Apple Bloom. She trotted up the path, to where Applejack and Big Mac were still talking. "Hey, sis?" she asked.

"Busy now, Apple Bloom," she said. "Now," she said to Big Mac, "we can fit maybe ten in the old hut-"

"Uh, Sweetie Belle an' Scootaloo an' I are gonna sneak inta Canterlot and try an' solve this mystery ourselves, barrin' gettin' arrested an' probably charged with treason, if that's all right with you."

"Sure, whatever. So, like I said, ten in the old hut, plus however many can camp outside..."

"Uh...ok, sis!"

She trotted back to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. "I'm out of excuses," she said.

Sweetie Belle sighed. "We're really going through with this?"

"If you don't, I'll just do it on my own!" said Scootaloo with a grin.

"At least this way we can keep an eye on her," said Apple Bloom.

Sweetie Belle looked at the both of them. Scootaloo was staring at her and giving her what the pegasus thought was a winning smile. Apple Bloom was eyeing Scootaloo with a look of concern.

Without her, they'd last five minutes. Tops.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. Let's go get into trouble."