Five ponies and a dragon were standing in front of a fence. All of them had a look on their faces that showed that they were both confused and worried. They're most honest friend had lied to them, but that same friend was accused of something that she did not do. None of them knew how to react.

"Maybe Flim can tell us more about what happened," Rainbow Dash interrupted the silence.

"Yeah, and we can explain to him that Applejack didn't do anything wrong!" proclaimed an excited Spike.

They agreed to split up and search for their friend's accuser. Spike pulled out a map that showed both the town and the Everfree Forest. Twilight divided the map into six equal fragments and gave everyone there a piece.

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Flam groaned. The dark figure that was walking beside him complained, "Quit whining. It was only a few bones. I could have done much worse."

"What is your goal?" the mechanic changed the subject.

"Why is my goal of your concern?" the shadow of a pony replied, suprised at the question and the hatred in the unicorn's tone.

"It became my concern when you kidnapped me," Flam replied harshly.

"Kidnapping you was a necessity to complete my goal. You being away from your brother will help me more than you will by my side."

"What?" Flam looked at the dark unicorn with surprise.

"I said-"

"I know what you said," Flam interrupted, "but how do you know?"

"How do I know about what?" inquired the shadow pony.

"How do you know about my brother?"

"My dear Flam, I know more about you than you know about yourself. If I were to tell you all of it, we would be here all day," stated the dark stallion while grinning.

Flam still didn't know how his kidnapper knew about his sibling, nor did he know how the other pony knew his name. Flam decided not to ask any more questions that would be answered with riddles. "And exactly how much time do we have?"

"None to waste."

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I'll never find him, thought the baby dragon as he walked in between two buildings. He's probably not even in Ponyville anymore.

Just as Spike finished thinking his depressing thought, he bumped into a white-and-blue striped shirt. He fell backward and looked straight up at a pair of lime green eyes staring at him from a yellow face.

"Flim!" Spike proclaimed. "Finally, I've found you! My friends want to-"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR FRIENDS WANT TO DO!" Flim interrupted. "Your friend," he started saying angrily, but paused, "killed my brother."

"No! She didn't kill anypo-"

"SHUT UP! You will not trick me." It seemed to Spike that Flim had a hard time getting those words to come out of his mouth. Flim stared at Spike with hatred for a few more seconds before a single tear grazed his cheek.

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The shadow pony was in the lead. His new "assistant" didn't know where they were going. He stopped suddenly, Flam walking into his flank and bouncing back. The black unicorn left his pony shape, turning into a dark fog again. The fog engulfed Flam and went into a bush.

"Hm Hm, Hm Hm, Hmmm," hummed a yellow pegasus as she slowly stepped into the forest.

A tree's leaves rustled. The mare was frightened by the small sound. She swung her head around, looking for the source of the sound as she slowly backed away. Her bright pink mane was ruffled by the amount of shaking her head did.

The tree rustled again. The pegasus shrieked and ran out of the forest. A cylindrical white head popped out of the tree leaves.

The shadow came out of the bush. It took a unicorn's shape once more. "Well, that was a minor annoyance," he muttered to himself. With a glow of his horn, he summoned Flam.

"Can you please not do that?" Flam requested.

"No. It's the only way to hide you."

"What do I need to be hidden from?"

"Everypony but me."

Flam was not surprised at this reply. "So I won't be able to talk to anypony ever again?"

"Maybe one day."

Flam couldn't think of anything to say, so he changed the subject. "What was that pony afraid of, anyway?"

The shadow unicorn nodded in the general direction of the tree that was rustling.

Flam looked at the feather-covered head that was in the tree. "Uh. She was afraid of a chicken?"

"That is no chicken. Don't look it in the eye."

Flam glared at his kidnapper for a minute before clenching his eyes shut. He doubted that the other stallion was lying because there was no reason to get rid of him.

The other pony turned back into a shadow. The dark fog that he now was flew up to the tree and engulfed the chicken-like creature. He then flew back down, returning to pony form. The chicken imposter fell out of the tree, revealing a long, green body and wings that looked like they belonged to a dragon.

"What was that thing?" Flam questioned in what could be interpreted as either shock or awe.

"A cockatrice. Half chicken, half dragon. If you look it in the eye, you turn to stone."

"And what exactly did you do to it?"

"I didn't kill it."

"That isn't what I asked."

"But it is all I care to tell you. You do not need to know the answer to your question."

Flam didn't reply. He didn't want his bones broken again.

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The princess could feel it. She knew that there was a sad pony crying in her home. She could sense that she had five friends searching for the person that caused her despair. She knew that there was a brother in despair and a dragon in trouble. Worst of all, she felt the presence of an evil being, a presence stronger than that of anything that she had felt before.

She knew what was coming. She knew what happened. She knew what would happen, what would happen to Twilight, to Twilight's friends, to her own sister, and to herself. She knew it, and she feared it.

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