They were gathred in the Ponyville Library, Twilight Sparkle's home. A white body was laying in the middle of the room. Rainbow Dash could see every one of the poor pony's bones through her fur. Her pink mane was wet from tears that fell from the eyes of the unicorn standing over her.

Twilight Sparkle was the one that was mourning. Tears fell from her eyes like rain falls in a thunderstorm. Her fur was matted with blood. She was wearing a golden tiara with a purple six-sided star attached to the top. The crown slipped off of her head when she tilted it down further. It hit the floor and shattered. The unicorn then looked up and stared angrily at a pony that was pitch black in both fur and mane.

The dark figure's eyes were calm while he stared back at Twilight Sparkle, but his mouth was smirking and an occasional giggle escaped his throat. Two ponies, a yellow stallion and a blue mare, bit their lips while glancing back and forth between the staring contest's contestants.

Rainbow Dash didn't want to see anymore. She turned her head away to see how the others in the room were doing. She didn't like what she saw.s

She couldn't tell if they were unconcious or if they were dead.

Rainbow shut her eyes as tight as she could. A tear escaped one. She realized that she didn't remember what happened. She didn't know who the dead pony was. She had no recollection of the attachment between the deceased and herself. For some reason, she still wanted to cry for her.

I can't cry, Dash thought to herself, I never cry.

"It doesn't have to come to this," a soothing, very feminine voice came to Rainbow's ears.

"What can I do to stop it?" the pegasus muttered.

"You must talk to Applejack. Learn about what happened and warn your friends."

"I'll do my best." Rainbow was still mumbling.

A more sinister voice then hit Rainbow Dash's ears. If snakes could talk, that voice is what Rainbow would imagine them to sound like. "Silly pony, you cannot change the future. Everything is already in motion."

Rainbow Dash jolted awake. She couldn't think straight. What just happened? Where have I seen that white mare before, and why am I attached to her so much? Rainbow knew that the answers to her questions wouldn't be answered for awhile.

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"Are you sure about this, Tia?"

Princess Celestia looked down at her sister sadly. "It is the only way to keep us safe."

They were in the hallway of the Archives, a library in Canterlot dedicated to protecting old scrolls, books, stories, and spells. Several doors were on each side of them, all labeled with a name or date.

"Philomena!" Celestia called for her pet phoenix. The bird flew onto Celestia's shoulder from behind Luna. "Hide in the StarSwirl the Bearded room. If you hear anyone come in, play dead."

Philomena flew ahead and turned at an intersection between hallways. The princesses went the opposite direction.

"So are you going to tell me about your dream, Luna?" Celestia asked.

Luna looked at the floor with watering eyes and whispered, "'What shall happen will give all tears, as it will be worse than our worst fears.'"

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Twilight Sparkle opened the door to the tree that she called home. "Spiiiiike?" she called out. "Where could he have gone?"

The unicorn walked into the middle of the room. She felt something under her hooves. She grabbed whatever it was with magic and pulled it up by her face. It was an envelope. It tore open with a purple flash of her horn, and a letter fell out.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

You're dragon seems to have gotten loose. I found him wandering the streets of Ponyville all by himself. He stayed with me last night in Manehatten. You should probably come and get him. Oh, and don't forget to bring your friend, Applejack. I'd really like to see her again.

Sincerely,

Flim

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"I'm hungry," Flam told his captor.

Oh, great. He's complaining again. "Stop whining or I'll feed you to the Ursa Minor."

Flam kept quiet for awhile after that. Good. He has enough sense to know that I have the ability to force him to the monster's cave. He should have enough sense not to betray me.

"So, where are we headed?" Flam asked.

They stopped walking on the edge of the Everfree Forest. "We are going to the library to..." The black pony paused for a few seconds before continuing, "...collect something."