Everfree Forest, the woods just outside Ponyville, loomed over the horizon of Equestria, all sight over it prohibited to those without wings.  Twigs snapped as unmentionable things scurried and prowled inside, leaves shook, and the foliage cast shadows in all directions, hiding nearly everything . . .

“I don't know about this, girls,” Sweetie Belle muttered nervously, “We've been in those woods before, and things didn't really go well then.”

“Relax, Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo replied, a determined grin on her face, “We got this! If anypony can do it, the Cutie Mark Crusaders can!”

“Okay, y'all, remember the plan,” Apple Bloom reminded them, “We track down Nocturne, watch him without lettin' him see us, and we take notes on everythin' he does. It'll help us solve the mystery of why he's been here since he was a foal.”

“But, what if he catches us?” Sweetie Belle asked, “What if he hurts us like he hurt Rainbow Dash?”

“He didn't hurt Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo corrected (she hadn't fully come to terms with what Nocturne had done to her idol), “He just sucker-hoofed her, is all. Probably did it while her back was turned, too . . .”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and continued, “Well, we just tell him we're friends of Fluttershy, then take off before he can do anythin'. Fluttershy told me he hasn't hurt her yet, and if he won't hurt Fluttershy, then he won't hurt us, neither.”

“Sounds good, I guess,” Sweetie Belle shrugged, “But how will this help us figure out what happened to Nocturne?”

“This is as good a plan as any, isn't it?” Scootaloo asked, “Besides, if he's a monster, like everypony says he is, then we have a chance to capture him and send him to Canterlot, so they can study him. He might just be a new species of pony we've never seen before! We'll be famous, and we'll earn our cutie marks for sure!”

“But, if he's really just a misunderstood pony, like Fluttershy said,” Sweetie Belle hypothesized, “then we might be able to talk to him, you know? Be his friends. That way, Fluttershy won't have to do anything risky anymore, we can prove Nocturne is a good pony, and everypony in town will know they're safe from him. We could earn our cutie marks that way, too, right?”

“Either way, we'll know what happened to Nocturne, and the mystery'll be solved!” Apple Bloom spoke eagerly, “No matter how we do it, we'll do it! Together! We can help the town, and Fluttershy, and maybe even Nocturne too! And we'll get our cutie marks!”

“You said it!” Scootaloo agreed.

“Okay, I'm in,” Sweetie Belle followed suit, feeling much more confident.  All three fillies put one hoof in, gave each other an assuring look of solidarity, and they gave a collective shout of triumph:

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS! YEAH!!”

And together, they ventured into the Everfree Forest, resolute and ready to face the danger.

They didn't know how unprepared they really were.

A split-second after Twilight finished speaking, the foliage burst open, and Fluttershy came galloping out, shaking all over and sobbing uncontrollably.  Without even stopping to greet her friends, she continued running all the way for her house.

The other five ponies simply stood and stared, each wondering to some degree or another what could possibly have upset Fluttershy so badly.  If the Everfree Forest was as devoid of the occult as Twilight Sparkle had attested, then what could possibly have frightened poor Fluttershy to tears?

“LET US IN, TWILIGHT!! LET US IN!! HURRY!!”

Twilight Sparkle heard the desperate screams and relentless banging at the door of the library and ran to open it.  All at once, three ponies came rushing in like three small blasts of wind, and Twilight was caught in their wake and left in a daze.

Spike and Fluttershy heard the commotion, and saw Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo rush in.  Fluttershy had arrived to try and convince Twilight of what she'd learned about Nocturne, but she couldn't help but try to suppress a feeling deep down inside that Nocturne might be responsible for the looks of fear she saw on the young fillies' faces.  She did say a little too much to Apple Bloom yesterday; Fluttershy hoped she hadn't said anything that would get the gears in her mind working.

While the Cutie Mark Crusaders' exploits were well-meaning, they had been known to stir up trouble.

“Hey, what's the matter with you guys?” Spike asked, worried, “You look like you've seen a ghost!”

“No,” replied Scootaloo, her voice trembling, “Worse.”

“Was it some kind of monster?” Twilight asked, finally resuming balance.

“Worse than that!” Sweetie Belle cried.

“Was it . . .” Fluttershy hesitated, not wanting to think about it herself, “. . . . a dragon?”

“Even worse than that!” Apple Bloom shrieked, but backpedaled after a glance at Spike, “Um, no offense, there, Spike.”

“None taken,” Spike assured, “But what was it? What did you see?”

“It was,” Sweetie Belle began, her voice shaky and broken, until she finally squealed, “It was . . . . . IT WAS HIM! NOCTURNE!!”

Twilight, Fluttershy and Spike gasped, and Twilight looked toward Fluttershy, a little displeased, “Nocturne, huh?”

Fluttershy was at a loss for words.  She was just as shocked as the others, but infinitely more baffled.  Once again, she thought she'd figured Nocturne out, and once again, it seemed she was wrong.

“Fluttershy, don't you see now?” Twilight asked desperately, “This is why I didn't want you to try appealing to him. Nocturne is dangerous. He hurt Rainbow Dash, threatened you, and now look what he did to the girls! He's not even above hurting them! Don't you see why your friends were worried about all the time you've been spending on Nocturne? We didn't want you to get hurt! We didn't want anypony to get hurt! I know you're intentions are good, but please, stop this before it goes too far.”

Fluttershy was almost convinced by Twilight's words.  Had she not learned what she had learned yesterday, this would have been the final straw.  But she was absolutely certain, now.  He'd only done what he'd done to Rainbow Dash because she provoked him; he would never repeat that unless he knew he was in legitimate danger.

And three fillies were hardly a threat to him.

“It wasn't him, Twilight,” Fluttershy said simply, “Nocturne didn't do this.”

“What?!” Twilight retorted, stunned, “Fluttershy, what's gotten into you? How can you possibly go on thinking that this monster is any—”

“Please!!” Fluttershy begged, stopping herself like before, “Oh, no, I interrupted again. I'm getting so bad about that . . . . but Twilight, you have to believe me. I know Nocturne is good, deep down. I'm surer of that now more than ever. Whatever scared the Cutie Mark Crusaders, it wasn't Nocturne.”

“There's one flaw in your assessment, Fluttershy,” Twilight reminded, “If it wasn't Nocturne, then why would the girls say it was him?”

Fluttershy admitted, she was stumped at that one, but the obvious answer was to get their side of the story.  If they say it was the bat-winged pony with piercing red eyes, then Twilight would have every reason to be worried.  But it would also mean that all of Fluttershy's efforts were wasted; while she had been confronted with this possible outcome in the past, this time, to Fluttershy, it was no longer possible.  She was sure that, whatever the Cutie Mark Crusaders would say had attacked them, they wouldn't say it was Nocturne.

Fluttershy walked over to the frightened fillies as Spike comforted them.  “Girls,” she said gently, “Don't you worry. You're safe now. Just tell us what happened, and we'll help you however we can, okay?”

It took the girls a few seconds to get themselves together, but they seemed calm enough to talk after a few seconds.  Apple Bloom was the first to speak up, “We're awful sorry, Fluttershy. We . . . we just wanted to help . . .”

“I understand, Apple Bloom,” Fluttershy replied calmly, “But it's all over now. You're not in trouble. Just tell us what scared you, and once we know what it is, we can make everything better, okay?”

There was a brief pause in which nopony spoke or moved.  The Crusaders still seemed shaken, despite their best efforts to calm themselves.  Finally, Sweetie Belle bravely stepped forward and began, “Okay. Well, here goes . . .”

Okay, so we went to the Everfree Forest.  Apple Bloom had gathered up Scootaloo and me, and we made our plan to go and watch Nocturne, in case we could learn something about him. You see, we wanted to help Nocturne—you know, be his friend, so he wouldn't be a monster anymore.  That way, nopony would be scared of Nocturne or worried about Fluttershy anymore—

“Yeah, yeah, get to the point, Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo complained.

“Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom admonished, “That's just plain rude! Let Sweetie finish, please!”

Scootaloo laid herself down on the floor, pouting and propping up her head on her hooves, “Fine, go ahead . . .”

“Thank you,” Sweetie Belle said politely before resuming.

Okay, so, we went inside, and we needed a plan to find Nocturne quickly.  So, Scootaloo suggested we climb a tree, and Apple Bloom said, “Okay, let's git awn up inta that thar tree, y'all!”

“I don't sound like that!” Apple Bloom complained.

“I'm sorry, but I can't do accents very well,” Sweetie Belle explained.

“You forgot about the part where you tripped on that branch!” Scootaloo added.

“Girls,” Twilight interrupted their bickering, “Let Sweetie Belle continue, please.”

So, I said, “I don't think that's a very good idea.”

But Scootaloo just started pushing me up into the nearest tree, and Apple Bloom said, “Don't y'all worry, Sweetie Baylle. We're raht behahnd ya!”  So we climbed up into the tree, but it took such a long time!  Do you know how hard it is to climb a big tree with hooves? Especially our little tiny hooves?  I scratched my leg, and Rarity gets really upset with me if I mess up my coat—oh, yeah, sorry, the story.

Well, we got up into the tree, and I felt something move up there with us.  So I said so, like, “Girls, I think there's something up here!”

And Scootaloo was like, “That's your imagination.”

But then I felt it again.  It slithered past my rump, and it felt so creepy!  So I turned around and kinda panicked a little bit, but Apple Bloom was like, “Don't panic, Sweetie Baylle. Jest grab one o' us if ya fawll.”

I felt better for a minute, but then I saw it! It was a snake!  I screamed and backed up, but Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were behind me, and we all fell over each other and tumbled out of the tree.  And Scootaloo landed right on her bottom, and she started crying—

“For the last time,” Scootaloo defended, “I was not crying! And it wasn't even that big of a snake! It didn't even have any fangs!”

“I still don't sound like that,” Apple Bloom sulked.  But a stern look from Twilight and Fluttershy kept them both quiet, and Sweetie Belle proceeded to the end.

Okay, so then we're dusting ourselves off, but that's when we heard something moving in the trees.  We all turned all over the place, but we didn't see anything.  Then, we all panicked when we heard a scream, but it was just Apple Bloom. She'd got bitten on the flank by a mosquito—

Scootaloo started snickering, and Apple Bloom frowned, with a hint of a blush.  “I wish you'd left that part out,” she muttered.  Sure enough, on her left flank was a small, red bump where her cutie mark would be (if she had one).

Well, after that, we heard something move again.  We looked, but there was nothing there.  We all stood close, flank-to-flank, for a while, trying to find out what was in there with us.  Then Apple Bloom said, “Hey, y'all! Maybeh that's Nawkturne out thar!”

Then Scootaloo stepped up and said, “Hey, Nocturne. That you? We just wanna talk, that's all.”

Then I said, “Scootaloo! He's not supposed to see us, remember?”

But he did see us!  He jumped out at us and roared, “You look delicious! And I'm hungry! Raaaaa-raaaa-raaar!!”  He spread his big bat wings and kept roaring, “RAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!”

And then we all screamed and ran away.  We thought we could hear him coming after us in the woods, but once we got out, I think we lost him.

Sweetie Belle finished, and Twilight and Fluttershy glanced at each other.  “Bat wings, huh?” Twilight said, extending a hoof to Sweetie Belle as if presenting evidence, “Sound familiar?”

“Sweetie Belle, are you sure that's what you saw?” Fluttershy asked, “You're absolutely, positively sure you saw big bat wings?”

“Well, I guess . . .” Sweetie Belle looked downcast, “But we were all really scared. I'm lucky I remembered anything that went on in there!”

“That's for sure!” Scootaloo stood up straight, “You messed that whole story up! That's not how it happened at all!”

“Is that so?” Twilight asked, intrigued, “Well, why don't you tell us your side of the story, Scootaloo? What do you remember seeing in those woods?”

Well, first of all, we weren't even in the woods for ten seconds before Sweetie Belle tripped over a branch.  We heard her yelp, and we looked over at her.  Apple Bloom was all worried and stuff, but I knew everything was fine.

“So, that other squeal wasn't a chipmunk?” Apple Bloom quipped, raising an eyebrow.

“Psh, whatever,” Scootaloo retorted in a low mumble before resuming.

So, I suggested we climb a tree so we could get a better view.  Apple Bloom agreed, and we had to push Sweetie Belle up there, too.  We looked around, and Sweetie Belle said that there was something up there, but we thought she was just panicking.  And of course, she was, 'cause she started screaming at this tiny little snake up in the tree, and she started freaking out and pushed us all out of the tree—

“It was an accident!” Sweetie Belle squeaked, “And it was not a little snake. It was gi-normous!”

“And don't forget, Scootaloo started cryin' once she landed on her backside,” Apple Bloom added.

“I was not crying!”

“Girls!” Fluttershy spoke up over them, “No fighting, please.”

The fillies gave a guilty chorus of “Sorry, Fluttershy,” before Scootaloo resumed her perspective.

Well, we shook off the fall, and that's when we all started hearing sounds.  At first, they came from all around us, but then we heard something else.  Apple Bloom yelled out to us, but when we turned, she was scratching her flank and whining about a bug bite.

“I wasn't whinin'!” Apple Bloom argued, “But it was a real big bug! And it stung so bad!”

“Apple Bloom's right,” Sweetie Belle defended, “She wasn't whining. I've lived with Rarity long enough to know what whining sounds like.”

“Come on, guys, can't you just tell the story without stopping each other?” Spike reasoned.

“Thank you, Spike,” Scootaloo said with a trace of indignity before resuming.

Okay, so then we starting hearing more sounds, and whatever was moving around in those woods was coming closer.  Apple Bloom thought it was Nocturne, so I walked up to settle the situation, and of course, Sweetie Belle was all worried something was gonna happen.  But I guess she was right to worry, 'cause that's when Nocturne jumped out at us and threatened to eat us!  Gross, right?  I'm pretty sure I could've taken him if he hadn't taken us by surprise, but I was with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom and all, so I thought it was best to split.  It followed us for a while, but we lost it!  I don't remember seeing wings, but I think I saw red eyes before we left.  Yeah, like these big, creepy red eyes that you could see even in the dark!

“Red eyes, Fluttershy!” Twilight said after Scootaloo finished, “Red eyes! What more do you need?”

Fluttershy did admit, the evidence against Nocturne was stacking up quickly.  But she refused to believe that Nocturne would threaten to eat another living thing.  For one, all ponies (as far as she knew) were herbivores, and couldn't eat so much as a mouse, let alone another pony.  That, and as much as she'd found out about Nocturne, the only violent act he'd been known to commit was beating up Rainbow Dash; while still terrible, it was tame compared to cannibalism.

“They didn't glow, though,” said Sweetie Belle, “At least, I don't think they did . . .”

“Yeah, ya left that out, Scootaloo,” said Apple Bloom, frustrated with this side of the story, “In fact, ya went through that story way too quick! You left out a bunch o' things!”

“I didn't leave out your new cutie mark, though,” she snickered, pointing to Apple Bloom's mosquito bite.

Sweetie Belle added, “But what about when you fell out of the tree and started cr—”

“I TOLD YOU, I WASN'T CRYING!”

“Apple Bloom, your turn!” Twilight spoke up over the bickering, trying to move things along, “You haven't told us what you think happened, yet.”

“Okay, then,” Apple Bloom nodded, “Let me tell y'all what really happened.”

We went into the forest, ready to solve the mystery of Nocturne.  It was plenty dark, but we weren't scared, least not at first.  We couldn't see too much, so we needed a good place to search the woods from.

We stopped for a minute when we heard Sweetie Belle yelp.  Unfortunately, that's the one part of the story Scootaloo got right—she did trip on a branch.  She was okay, though, so we moved on.

Scootaloo said, “I think we need to climb up a tree, that way we can at least see over stuff.”

I said, “Good idea, let's try that one,” and I pointed to this big ol' tree nearby.

Sweetie Belle was a little nervous, and she was like, “I don't think that's such a good idea.”

But I said, “Don't worry, Sweetie Belle, we're right behind you.”  And so me'n Scootaloo helped her up into the tree.  Took us awhile, but we made it, and we started lookin' around.

Then Sweetie Belle said somethin' like, “I think something's up here with us!”

But Scootaloo was like, “That's your imagination.”  But then she started hollerin', and we saw the snake she was worried about.  She freaked out and shook the tree,and we all tumbled out—

“Don't say I cried!” Scootaloo stopped her, looking more serious about it now, “I wasn't crying! I really wasn't!”

Apple Bloom sighed, “Fine. I'll forget about the cryin' if you let me forget about the mosquito bite.”

Scootaloo considered this for a minute, then shrugged, “Okay, fair enough.”

“What about the branch, and the snake in the tree?” Sweetie Belle asked, upset.

Scootaloo patted her shoulder, “Don't worry about it, Sweetie Belle. None of that stuff really mattered to the story anyway, I guess.”

“Yep,” Apple Bloom agreed, “It's all behind us, now. Okay?”  Sweetie Belle beamed, and nodded her compliance, and Apple Bloom continued, “Okay, so the thing about the branch, the snake, the tree, and the mosquito didn't happen . . .”

But once we got out of the tree, we started hearin' real creepy sounds.  At first, they came from all around us, but then we saw some bushes movin', and I was pretty sure we'd found Nocturne.

So Scootaloo went up and said, “Hey, Nocturne, that you? We just wanna talk, that's all.”

But Sweetie Belle remembered the plan and said, “Scootaloo! He's not supposed to see us, remember?”

But it was too late.  Nocturne jumped out at us and roared, and he said, “Mmmm, you look delicious, little fillies! Time for a SNACK!”  We freaked out and ran, but we were worried he would catch up to us. We heard 'im gainin' on us for a while, but once we got out of the woods, we didn't hear nothin', so we thought it was safe. You shoulda seen 'im, the big wings, those red eyes, them sharp claws, those—

“Wait, what?” Spike stopped them, “Claws? Since when do Pegasi have claws?”

Apple Bloom seemed to reconsider her words, “Uhh, well . . . I guess they don't. But, what other Pegasus has big ol' bat wings?”

“Actually, I saw claws, too,” Sweetie Belle supported the notion, “But I didn't really think about it. I guess it was 'cause I was so scared.”

“Hey, yeah!” Scootaloo added in realization, “He did have claws, didn't he? Maybe he just . . . I don't know . . . grew them while he was living in the woods?”

“Was it wearing a hat?”

Everypony was surprised by Fluttershy's question, not only by the question itself, but because of her insistent use of the 'it' pronoun.

“Oh, that's right!” Apple Bloom suddenly realized, “Nocturne wears a fedora, doesn't he?”

“A fedora?” Scootaloo retorted, “Psh! Lame . . .”

Sweetie Belle smiled, “I don't know, I think fedoras are kinda cool.”

“Girls, focus,” Twilight spoke up, “Did you see a fedora, or any kind of hat on his head?”  All three girls shook their heads.

“See, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked, “It couldn't have been Nocturne. Whatever this thing was, it wasn't wearing a hat. I always see Nocturne wearing it, so it couldn't have been him.”

Twilight eyed Fluttershy skeptically, “You don't think he could have taken it off for a minute?”

“Isn't there anything else you guys can remember?” Spike asked.

All three fillies thought for a moment, until Sweetie Belle finally answered, “Well, I thought there was something weird, but I didn't wanna bring it up, 'cause it didn't really make a lot of sense . . . um, well . . .” she seemed to struggle to put it together in her head, but pressed on, “. . . . he looked like he walked funny. Like, he didn't walk on four legs, you know? Like . . . he had no legs.”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked back at her, not out of confusion, but out of awe.  “Yeah, I remember that, too!” Scootaloo responded, “In fact, I didn't even hear the clip-clop of his hooves when we were running! It was like he was . . . . gliding.”

“And he couldn't have been flyin'!” Apple Bloom added, “There wasn't enough room to flap his giant wings! It really did seem like he was glidin', or hoverin', or . . . well . . .”

“Slithering?” Twilight asked, and the Crusaders all agreed.  A look of clarity suddenly flashed over Twilight's face, and she rushed over to a bookshelf, pulling a book from it with her magic.

“What is it, Twilight?” Spike asked with a mix of concern and excitement, “You on to something?”

“You bet, Spike,” Twilight replied as she flipped through the book (the title read The Behaviors and Habitats of Amazing Creatures).  After a few seconds of flipping through pages, Twilight seemed to find what she was looking for, “Here it is!”  She walked back toward the group, carrying the book with her, and held it up in front of the girls, “Is this what you saw?”

The girls stared at the page Twilight found, reading the information printed on one side:

Of all creatures that exist in the land of Equestria, few are as deadly and cunning as the Lamia.  A bizarre creature with the head, chest and front legs of a wildcat, and the waist and tail of a serpent, the Lamia can be found in dark forests, rocky mountains, or harsh deserts.  Able to travel quickly by sliding on its tail or taking to the air with its enormous bat-like wings, the Lamia's versatility makes it a deadly predator.  It is capable of  great feats of strength, speed and reflexes, and is known for shredding its prey to pieces with its feline claws, as well as strangling it with its powerful tail.  For centuries, the Lamia's diet has made it a particularly reviled beast, as it only seems to desire—

The Cutie Mark Crusaders stopped reading and saw the picture on the opposite page—the picture of the Lamia, exactly as the book described it.  It was a monstrous sight indeed, a furry, spotted coat matted with muck and Celestia only knew what else, that extended all the way to the waist, until the fur quickly morphed into reptilian scales.  From there, the feline body morphed with it, a slow gradation from wildcat torso to snake tail.  The wings were huge, and bore the same scales as the serpentine tail, but were green instead of black.  Its red eyes had the characteristics of both snakes and jungle cats, and seemed to glare back at the readers with malice.

“THAT'S IT!” the Crusaders all announced at once, “THAT'S WHAT WE SAW!!”

Twilight looked stunned as she closed the book, “Amazing . . . the Lamia is exceptionally rare. For one to show up here in Ponyville, I—” she stopped, seeming to realize something.  She then turned to Fluttershy, her eyes forlorn, “I'm so sorry, Fluttershy. You were right all along. But it just sounded so much like him when they told us what scared them, and after what's happened, I feared the worst.”

“It's okay, Twilight,” Fluttershy replied placidly, “I understand. Nocturne's still a mystery to us all. But now we know what happened for sure.”

“Besides,” Spike added with a smile, “The Cutie Mark Crusaders are safe, and like they said, that thing stopped following them after they got out. What's the worst that could happen?”

As soon as Spike stopped, there was a tremendous BANG against the door of the library that startled everypony.  Another BANG, and the fillies started cringing; after what they'd seen, they seemed sure of what was making that sound.

CRAAAASH!!

The door was broken down, taking much of the wall around it with it, and a menacing, 25-foot-long creature slithered in—the very same creature illustrated in Twilight's book.

“Ahhh, there you are!” the Lamia roared, “You little morsels thought you could slip away from me?!”

“NO!” Fluttershy bellowed, seizing her dormant courage and standing in front of the fillies, “You go away and leave them alone!”

“Get away from them!” Twilight added viciously, firing up a magical glow in her horn, “We won't let you hurt them!”

The Lamia merely chuckled; she seemed completely unfazed by the mares' attempts at bravado.  With a lightning-quick swing of a paw, she brushed Twilight off to the side, knocking her into a bookshelf and burying her under a cascade of books.  She launched her tail into Fluttershy at the same time, catching her in the chest and bashing her into the wall behind her, knocking her unconscious.

“TWILIGHT! FLUTTERSHY!” Spike screamed before the Lamia slammed a paw on top of him, pressing him face-first into the floor.  Without another sound, the Lamia wrapped her tail around Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, squeezing them into a tight bind, and swiftly leaped out of the library through the hole she'd made.  The Crusaders struggled against her grip, but could not move, and their screams could be heard all the way outside, fading as the Lamia dragged them away.

Spike stood up in a daze, and Twilight pushed the pile of books off of her with her magic.  “Fluttershy!” she gasped, racing toward her, “Oh, no! Are you okay, Fluttershy? Say something, please!”  She looked around in a panic, and found that the girls were gone.  “No!” she shrieked, “It took them! We couldn't stop it! It actually took them!”

“What do we do?!” Spike screamed his head off and ran around in circles in a panic, “WhadowedowhatdowedowhatdowedowhatdowedowhatdowedowhatdowedoWHATDOWEDO!?!?”

“Calm down, Spike!” Twilight yelled over him, “Don't panic! I'll stay here with Fluttershy, you go and gather the others, okay?”

Spike froze where he stood, and Twilight's words eased his panic, “Right! Gather the others! All right, here I go!”  And Spike rushed out of (what was left of) the door, stepping over wooden debris and taking off like a little green-and-purple blur.

“Hurry!” Twilight called after him, then turned her attention back to her fallen friend, “Oh, Fluttershy, hang in there! Everything's gonna be okay! I'll watch over you, and Spike's on his way to get Rarity, and Applejack, and Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. They'll get the girls back! I know they will!”

Twilight wished she could go with them, but guilt kept her where she was more than anything else.  All this time, she didn't believe Fluttershy, and now when the evidence was clear, it hurt her deep down.  After staunchly believing Nocturne was behind this, now that she knew she was wrong, she knew caring for Fluttershy while she lay unconscious was the least she could do to make it up to her.  The shame went even deeper than that, she soon realized—she'd formed a conclusion without considering the variables.  She almost never did that, and believed it must have been fear, clouding her judgment.  Fear of the unknown.  Fear of what could not be prepared for.

Fear of what might happen to her friends.

She only hoped Spike would hurry before it was too late; glancing at her copy of The Behaviors and Habitats of Amazing Creatures (it had fallen open to the Lamia page in the confusion), she shuddered at the last sentence, the one the Cutie Mark Crusaders had not finished reading:

For centuries, the Lamia's diet has made it a particularly reviled beast, as it only seems to desire the young of other species, particularly pony foals. Next Chapter: Day 5 concluded Estimated time remaining: 35 Minutes