Twilight scrambled down worn dirt paths, dust whirling behind her for a moment before settling as she rounded a bend. She hastily darted past houses, grateful that nary a soul had set hoof into the streets at the onset of today's dawn. A sense of hope and euphoria filled her, and she showed it through high-pitched whinnies, fast-moving hooves, and a smile on her face that came with a gleam in her amethyst eyes.

She rounded a bend that veered left and kept going, adrenalin coursing through her veins as she blazed down another street. Turning sharply to the left again after a good five miles or so on hoof, her smile grew as a windmill came into view. She spotted a nearby wooden bridge and pranced up to it, listening to the sharp taps she produced just trotting to the other side, and crossed another bridge seemingly lined with moss that arced over a small creek.

Past that, she spotted another tree-house-type construct, though it was considerably shorter yet thicker than the library. It had a plethora of windows, however, and two doors fitted onto the same frame that made it look like one split horizontally in half. Bird houses and nests littered the scene, dangling from trees and kept tidy in hollowed out holes in the trunks. Some ground burrows were here and there, though thankfully out of the way of the dirt path leading up to the house.

Twilight paused, partly to catch her breath and partly to admire the bird houses as the sun's early light basked them in its glow. Some blue jays and cardinals jumped out, chirping and experimentally flapping their wings for a moment before taking to the skies and spreading their songs through the expanses above. Her eyes fell to the ground, just as some rabbits began crawling out of the burrows. Her smile fell when the rabbits frowned, chittering fervently about something she couldn't comprehend.

Her legs burned with pain, and Twilight started trotting up to the house in spite of her nerves telling her to stop. She forced herself to look at the door instead of the rabbits, taking care to not stray from the dirt path and accidentally trample on the entrances of the rabbit holes. Upon reaching the wooden obstruction, she rose a hoof and began knocking slowly.

She stopped knocking when hooves echoed from within, and she took a step back as both halves of the door opened. In the frame now stood Fluttershy, who had slight bags under her blue-green eyes and a tremendously frazzled mane. She blinked sleepily, regarding Twilight with partially-lidded eyes. "Twilight, it's very early. Do you need something?" she asked in a soft tone that belied her drowsiness.

"The Fantasians are here, and I heard a riot transpired in Canterlot last night," Twilight replied, making to speak again when two things happened simultaneously. First, Fluttershy's eyes widened, her jaw soundlessly dropping open like somepony jammed a hoof snugly between her two rows of teeth. Her wings spread to full mast, as if by reflex, and they shuddered for a moment before snapping shut at her sides.

The second thing that happened was that the rabbits started shrieking in unison, running back to their burrows and sending the airborne birds into a frenzy overhead. The avians rushed back to their homes, chirping frantically, as though Twilight herself had the temerity to say something so unspeakably vile in their tongue they could not bear to listen to it any longer. This left just the two alone, at least for the moment.

"A… riot? In Canterlot?" Fluttershy asked, pupils seemingly shaking in her eyes.

"Yeah. It got bad enough that our… guests sustained some injuries. Could you come over to the library…" Twilight paused, taking in Fluttershy's haggard look, "whenever you feel ready?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Of course. Oh, poor Angel's been fretting about the little hippogryph filly—is she hurt?" she asked.

Twilight shook her head. "No. In fact, her feathers are growing back," Twilight replied, donning a small frown. "Why's Angel… concerned about it?"

"He told me he doesn't want what already happened to undergo a repeat," Fluttershy sighed, just as she felt something tugging at her mane. She looked down and found Angel at her front hooves, a bandage on his head that left holes for his ears to poke through and a firm scowl set in his face. He furiously chittered a bit and crossed his forelegs, tapping a rear paw rather impatiently.

"Um, I'll wait for you to feed your animal friends and get ready. Oh, and when you come, could you bring Angel with you, and a fish for NoLegs?" Twilight inquired, softly smiling when Fluttershy looked up at her and sent her another nod.

"I would be more than grateful to give a fish to little NoLegs. But I have to feed all of my other friends first," Fluttershy murmured in reply. She turned around and went back inside, stretching her wings as she languidly walked to another room within the house. Angel went with her, shooting Twilight a soft smile before closing the door behind himself.

Twilight trotted backwards a few paces from the door and turned around to look at the path she'd come from. She took a deep breath and exhaled, and the moments that passed after that were spent examining the area. After a good twenty minutes or so, Twilight began softly smiling as small blades of grass caught some of the early dawn's rays and began appearing as though they were glowing in the light's radiance.

Another ten or so minutes ticked by, and slowly, the birds poked their heads from their homes before taking flight and filling the air with their songs. Their chirps and serenades had a sort or effect on the immediate area, causing the rabbits to come out of their burrows and chitter amongst themselves once again.

From the nearby creek, beavers poked their heads out of the water before hauling themselves to the banks and stretching their dripping wet forelegs. Twilight smiled softly as amongst them, a little beaver kit stood next to the fully-grown adult beavers, giving them a look and some slaps on the ground courtesy of its tail. The adults with it chattered a bit before walking up to the nearest rabbit and communicating with it.

Fluttershy opened the door, and her presence immediately caught the attention of the animals already out and about. "Breakfast is ready," she called out, and the birds and rabbits and beavers rushed to the door, darting past her with smiles on their little faces. The little beaver kit tripped, and Fluttershy hurriedly trotted to it and gently used a hoof to get it back on its feet as soon as she was at its side. The kit shot a wide smile at her before running into the house to join the other animals.

Twilight went to the nearest window and peeked in, smiling as the assorted animals started eating food that had been laid out in a living room. Turning to her friend, she decided to venture with words, "Um, where are the mice and squirrels at?"

"Oh, them?" Fluttershy responded, turning to Twilight with a sincere smile on her face. "Oh, they're in the kitchen. Angel's eating too; he was almost done when I trotted out to tell the other bunnies and critters that their food was ready." A moment passed, before her smile fell and she went wide-eyed. "Oh no, I forgot NoLegs' treat!" With that, she rushed back into the house, and Twilight chuckled when she returned a moment or so later with Angel perched on her back and a basket of fish held on the handle with her teeth.

"So, you're ready now?" Twilight asked with an amused smile spreading on her face. Fluttershy nodded and made a muffled "Mhmm" in response, her movements slow as her head bobbed. Twilight nodded back and the two trotted over the small bridge, though Fluttershy turned back to find Harry coming around from behind the massive house. She lowered her head to set the basket down and craned her neck to see him closing the door.

The bear rushed up and met with the ponies, letting off a small growl as he picked up the basket with his claws. Angel chattered at him for a moment, and Harry listened as the rabbit told him something. The furry giant nodded in understanding, and they turned to the road ahead, where Twilight stopped a few paces to wait for them. The trio rushed up to join her eagerly, and back into Ponyville they went.

~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~

The Fantasians sat around the library's table, with Shining between Lance and Armin and Spike sitting between Alexander and Katie. The group bickered rampantly, some pointing at a worn book that stood open at the center of the table, though all had hooves and claws and paws on the table.

"So, this book's meant to be elsewhere?" Matt asked, using a hoof to gesture to the damned thing. He looked at Spike, who nodded frantically.

"At least, I think it is. I don't know where it's supposed to be, though," Spike replied, a frown on his face.

Lance rose his front hooves and put them together as if in prayer. He sighed, shaking his head. "So, Twilight just… found it. In this library…" He paused, closing his eyes and lifting a hoof to rub his temples before continuing, "somewhere. Is this what I happen to be hearing?"

"That's about right. We don't even know who might've had the book before, apart from the pony who wrote it," Spike answered, nodding in spite of the fact that Lance had his eyelids shut.

"So, what're you lot so keen to know?" Shining asked, eyes darting between the assembled Fantasians.

"Anything regarding the barrier that broke. My general heard some 'end of the worlds' nonsense from an old, crazy geezer," Armin answered, raising a hoof up before rubbing the back of his neck with it. He lowered his limb when Maria let off a whimper and wrapped her claws around his ribs, and he moved his other foreleg around to hold her with a sigh of resignation.

Shining noticed the foal's clinging to said changeling, and turned to Anna before changing the subject a little, "So, just to be absolutely certain we're all on the same page here, nopony remembers or knows much about Starswirl?"

Everyone, sans Spike, shook their heads.

Shining Armor sighed dejectedly. He looked around before noticing NoLegs striding to him, and looked at the cat quizzically before he found the end of his muzzle booped by a furry tail. The cat mewed with a purr, causing him to raise a brow. "Do you need something?" Shining asked.

NoLegs nodded, using his tail to gesture to a white hoof that sat on the table. Shining mentally slapped himself and rose the hoof the cat pointed at to give him some petting. "So, tell me more about the legends I've heard about the supposedly-non-existent Fantasian alicorns," he murmured, turning his eyes on Sarah.

Sarah sighed, shuddering as she felt Lance's cold crimson gaze sweep over her. Having Shining giving her more or less the same look was bad enough, and she gulped before speaking in a nervous tone, "W-well… I kn-know this one foal's tale I heard…" She gulped again, suppressing another shudder before continuing, "When Fantasia and Mythos first came to be, two divine beings quibbled over the sibling planets in their first hours of existence. One was a cat, with silky white fur and piercing blue eyes that wished to spread feline dominance."

Shining and Lance exchanged looks before nodding in her direction. Sarah took that as her cue to go on, "The other was a white alicorn with a flowing red mane and eyes sparkling a greenish-blue. She was a pony who had a long tapered horn, a regal set of wings capable of whipping up storms, and hooves that were strong enough to rend mountains asunder. The alicorn, a mare named Faust, wished to spread equine rule."

"An alicorn named Faust? That's funny," Katie noted, ears twitching as she spoke.

Sarah nodded to Katie, before taking another deep breath. "So, they battled for the worlds, for many years—until they saw that they were at an impasse. The feline, Godcat, decided to broker a deal with Faust: the same species could inhabit both worlds, both flora and fauna, and the fighting between them would cease."

"Faust agreed, and together they made cat and ponykind, as well as all other species, once they ensured the worlds were safe enough to inhabit." Sarah paused with a shuddering breath, her head lowering and eyes closing. She rose her talons above the table and clasped them around one another in a pleading posture.

Her voice dropped to a somber tone as she went on, "But Godcat favored the cats and the gryphons, who were Fantasia's apex predators, and Faust favored the equines. Both saw that one world had a dominating species, and reacted vehemently: Faust took away the cats' legs, and weakened the gryphons and any hippogryphs she could find. Godcat responded by wiping out many, many alicorns and gave some aid to her then-just-legless children and ailed gryphs. In doing so, she left just the unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasi to seek out a living on their lonesome. Only a select few with traits of all three tribes escaped her wrath, but even they did not leave entirely unscathed."

Shining cringed, eyes narrowing as Sarah let out a soft sigh. "The few alicorns left… at least, on Fantasia, none ever heard from them again. Their exact fates were buried so long ago, they may as well have been lost to the mists of time. The earliest ponies and cats eventually had an upheaval against their gods, and locked them away after a cataclysmic battle raged for some time. Thereafter, a barrier between the worlds had been enforced, with none daring to even break it. None could break it, as their descendants came to find out eons after the initial clash. None knows who even made it or why, just the same," she concluded.

"And yet… the barrier broke," Matt mumbled in a low voice. He too turned his eyes on Sarah as she gave a final dejected sigh. "Does the legend mention anything about what could've broken it?"

Sarah shook her head, keeping it low. "No," came the terse reply. She rose her head and leveled a straight gaze at Shining before adding, "In fact, that's all I do know—and it's the only foal's tale dad would tell me and Anna when we were fillies… for all I know, dad might've tweaked the tale a lot, and the original would be lost to me if such is the case."

"He probably did tweak it here and there. After all, children are young and impressionable; you were no exception," Alexander piped up, garnering a nod from Sarah.

"And we don't know how much your old stallion altered or left out," Armin added with a sigh. "Hell, neither do you—I feel like we're galloping in circles here."

"Which sucks," Sarah scoffed, nodding again.

Shining nodded back. "Every teensy bit we can get helps," he groaned. NoLegs chimed in with a mew, purring as his hoof continued to rub him. He turned his eyes on everyone else, making sure to give Spike but a brief glance, and again the heads shook glumly.

"What's a predator?" Maria asked, and immediately a few of her fellow Fantasians tensed up at the question.

Katie groaned and answered the foal in a flat tone, "A predator is somepony, gryph, cat, or whatever that kills and eats another living being. Like, say I could catch and eat a mouse—in that case, I'd be a predator."

"That sounds about right," Shining remarked, looking at the filly. "But not all predators are bad—most just kill to survive."

"But, there are predators who go above and beyond to be the most sadistic, inconsiderate, horrific barbarians that the environment has managed to produce," Fenrir added, pausing briefly to growl at nothing in particular. He went on after taking some breaths and collecting himself, "They seem inconspicuous—at first. And when one's guard goes down, that's when they reveal their truest of colors."

Sarah pried her talons apart and rose one of them. "I can vouch for that," she agreed.

Spike mimicked her posture. "Seconded," he stated simply.

Shining turned his eye on Spike and opened his mouth, but before he could utter so much as one syllable, the door opened and caught everyone's attention. The gathered bunch turned and sighed as Twilight Sparkle came trotting in, with Fluttershy, Harry, and Angel bringing up the rear. Speaking of, the bear parted from the mares and rabbit and homed in on the table, plopping a basket of fish next to the book.

And that was before Maria jumped from Armin's forelegs onto the table and launched herself into the bear's chest afterwards. "Fuzzy!" she exclaimed cheerfully, a great big smile on her face.

Fluttershy trotted to Harry as he staggered back and steadied himself, spreading her wings and flapping before flying around his hulking form to see what had tackled him. She grinned upon spotting Maria nestled in his massive forelimbs, and gave a small giggle. "It seems you missed Harry," she noted. The bear looked at his airborne companion and smiled, giving off a soft growl to accompany his grin. Angel, who was perched on Fluttershy's back, hopped onto the table and bounded to NoLegs, chittering something to him while using a paw to gesture to the fish basket.

The cat nodded and pried himself away from Shining, approaching the basket with a gleam in his eyes. When he settled next to it, he used his tail-magic to pluck out a very fat trout. While the cat commenced with digging in, Angel darted to Lance and shot him a glare that could've been intimidating—if not for the difference in size between himself and the red-eyed pegasus he glowered at.

The rabbit chittered something in bunny-tongue and rose a paw, using two digits to point between his own eyes and those of the pony he stared down. "You're watching me?" Lance asked, looking at Angel with an amused smile spreading on his face.

The rabbit nodded once before Fluttershy swooped in and scooped him off of the table with a foreleg. "Apologies. He's just been grouchy and worrying about Maria so much he thought of doing terrible, diabolical things if even one scratch got on her haunches," Fluttershy sighed.

Lance nodded in understanding. "I can understand his worry. Though, I doubt he can do terrible, diabolical things—his attempts would make me raise an eyebrow at best," he replied, still grinning.

"Oh, I've heard about terrible things happening in Canterlot, and when I told Angel about it… let's just say I had to set aside some bits to invest in a punching bag for him later," Fluttershy murmured, her remark instantly causing Lance's smile to drop.

"What happened last night, or weeks ago?" Lance inquired, eyes narrowing.

"Both," Fluttershy replied simply, turning to fly away. She gained a bit of distance before landing on three legs at Twilight's side.

Twilight trotted to the table and turned to Shining. "Say, did you glean anything?" she asked.

"A local Fantasian legend," Shining replied with a huff. "Sis, do you have anything on an alicorn named Faust?"

"On an alicorn named Faust?" Twilight repeated, blinking as the words bounced about in her skull. She fidgeted for a moment before her horn lit up, her magic grabbing every single book in the crevasses at once. "This might take a while…"

~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~

Zecora crept around the foliage of the Everfree, eyes and ears open and alert. Her hooves were in constant contact with the ground, either brushing up against shrubs and twigs, lightly kicking aside rocks, or squelching in the damp undergrowth. Laden on her back was a saddlebag, which shifted against her body every time she scraped against a tree or thorn-laden bush.

She paused, her gold accessories clinking when she halted. Before her, a small clearing stretched, letting in more sunlight than the rest of the darkened canopy. In one ray of solar light, a patch of blossoms bloomed in a cluster. Fluttering gently to one such flower was a lone butterfly, large enough to cover one of her hips with its wings alone. It sported colorful scales and tails extending from its back wings, vibrant crimson in hue that gave way to golds and oranges which appeared to be metallic.

Zecora grinned, and quietly reached into her saddlebag with a hoof, opening the flap before pulling out a lidded jar large enough to contain the butterfly. She rose on her back legs, lifting her tail to make an ample counter-weight, and silently approached the insect while unsealing the jar. Her smirk broadened when the butterfly flittered away from the flower, only to find itself in a prison of glass. She sealed the jar and eyed the creature, watching as it tried to get away to no avail.

"At last I have you, my gorgeous sunset swallowtail. You shall accompany Gala to the afterlife when she sets sail," Zecora intoned, gently placing the jar with the swallowtail into her saddlebag and closing the flap. She turned around and crept back into the shadows of the woods, careful to avoid stepping or kicking things that could give her position away to potential predators.

For a few moments, she trudged through the dense woods, pausing to swat unwanted insectoid hitchhikers with mere flicks of her tail. Zecora stayed low, rarely straying into the light, her striped form of dark and light greys providing a monochrome sort of camouflage. A growl from somewhere nearby halted her right in her tracks, though, and she quickly crouched to the ground.

Twigs snapped and the sounds rang in her ears, and Zecora's heart began climbing up her throat. She remained still, hoping to go unseen by whatever it was that had produced the noise. Her eyes darted everywhere, though she couldn't see much past the trees and the bushes from her current position.

Then, she caught the sight of something moving. It curled around a tree trunk to her left, though it writhed out of sight. Another growl hit her ears, much louder and more like a roar than anything else. The Everfree fell into a thick silence, occasionally broken up by crickets and birds that went on making the morning symphony.

Adrenalin pumped through her blood and the hairs on her backside stood on end as a wet, semi-viscous liquid dribbled down onto her withers from above. Slowly, she tilted her head and craned her neck to see what it was that produced the odd substance. Zecora paled upon seeing a great, serpentine beast made of wood, with thick treebark acting as scales. It had gnarled horns on its head, a fanged maw slowly opening and oozing some kind of green fluid.

But what really snagged her attention were its eyes, glowing a sickly green and lined with three-pronged leaves. They zeroed in on her, and the beast lowered its frame so its reptilian-esque face hovered inches from her own. It let off a hideous roar that sent an acrid aroma of rotting flesh into her nose, and a spray of green fluid that went everywhere. The liquid wasted no time in coating her mohawk so much it drooped to one side as soon as the beast finished its cry.

Zecora scrambled to her hooves and backpedaled as the thing lunged at her, sinking wooden daggers for teeth into the dirt. "Oh no, I enraged a snarling timberwyrm!" she cried with alarm, turning around and jumping into a harried gallop. "If it wants me for food—on second thought, this I do not wish to confirm!" Her cries served to embolden the beast—as soon as it disentangled half of its face from the dirt, it slithered after her with another wailing roar, homing in on its galloping quarry like a missile.

Zecora fled deeper into the wood, jumping out of the immediate path of trees and darting over bushes. The timberwyrm kept pursuing her, launching itself into the canopy and slithering through the branches, keeping a constant vigil on its target. It started lashing out after a moment or so of giving chase, narrowly missing her flailing legs and sailing tail as she repeatedly ghosted away just out of reach.

She moved deftly, lungs starting to burn as the monster lunged at her again and again. Her run began to slow a bit, only to pick back up as she doubled her efforts to get away, eyes peeled for something she could use to avoid becoming the timberwyrm's breakfast. At last, after turning a sharp right and blazing through another clearing, she found her chance: a broken tree up ahead, its bulk resting at an angle with just enough room for her to squeeze between the wood and the dirt.

Zecora dove and slid, going under the fallen wood husk with ease. The timberwyrm miscalculated when it lunged, grabbing the entire tree instead of its prey with one firm bite. The monster let out a muffled roar, hefting the tree and wildly thrashing its head about, yet no matter how fast or erratically it moved the tree would not dislodge from its jaws. To make things worse for the would-be diner, a swarm of glimmering green beetles with antennae as long as their bodies poured out of the dead tree. They climbed all over the wyrm, quickly sinking their mandibles into its barky flesh and halting it in its tracks entirely.

Zecora took this as her chance to get away, running for a good ten minutes before slowing to a trot. She paused to catch her breath and rest, and checked on the jar to ensure that and her flittering passenger were alright. Thankfully, the glass confine and the butterfly were both unharmed, and when she regained her breath she set out once again after putting the jar back in her saddlebag. Thirty minutes passed when she eventually found another clearing that boasted a tree with a door built into the bark, and she sighed in relief.

She trotted briskly to the door and opened it, using her tail to close it shut behind her as soon as she strode inside. She scanned the room with the shelves full of bottles and the cauldron, before her eyes fell on a pile of hay with the legless Crimson Gala looking at her expectantly. "Did you find a butterfly that's beautiful?" she asked.

Zecora answered in silence as she opened her saddlebag again and procured the jar with the butterfly in it. "Yes, I have found such a butterfly. It flitted to me, and I gently snatched it from the sky," she eagerly replied with a grin. She opened the jar and watched as the butterfly clambered out, looking around warily before flittering out and about the room.

Gala watched the insect, seemingly captivated by its graceful movements and bold hues. The insect continued to flitter and float, and after a few moments it changed course, descending down slowly to land on the end of her muzzle. She giggled like a little filly at the sight, grinning as the butterfly didn't fly off at her noise of joy.

Zecora's smile widened as well, and she tried her hardest to not fawn over the sight. "It seems the swallowtail adores you. All seems well for the moment—now, I shall work on the brew," she noted in her head, and she began to trot about. She pulled off ingredients with her hooves, mouth, and tail, being careful to avoid smashing their containers and setting them before the cauldron.

"It's between my ears!" Gala exclaimed, briefly catching Zecora's attention for a moment. Indeed, the insect decided to rest between the wraith's ears, wings folded up to reveal a dull brown underside with an equally dull body.

"Don't be too loud, for noises can cause undue tension. I ran into a timberwyrm earlier; we really don't need the extra attention," Zecora warned. Gala slowly nodded, her mane bobbing up and down with her and gently shaking the butterfly on her head.

Zecora nodded back and proceeded to pull a mortar and pestle hewn of oak wood out of a shelf, and she tottered over to the cauldron to put it with the rest of the ingredients. She opened some of the bottles and jars, revealing dried herbs and bits of plants that she poured out in eyeball-measured amounts, making sure not to spill a single leaf outside of the mortar. Picking up the small bowl in her left hoof, she grabbed the pestle with her right and started grinding up the plants.

She paused when a low, bestial roar came from outside, but resumed turning the plants into powder when it faded without any other noise accompanying the racket.