The mood in Golden Oak Library was, understandably, a grim one. Not so long ago, this place had been one of celebration and excitement, but now? Now, the only looks anypony seemed to have here was of fear and concern. Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Spike all sat quietly around the place, never saying a word to each other, simply counting the moments as they rolled by. A nearby clock on the wall gave off the same "tick-tock" it usually did, providing the only real sound in the room. Then, at the end of it all, the library door opened, and all eyes were upon Twilight, who now entered the room with the rest of them. Her expression was about on par with theirs, and as soon as that door was closed, Spike rushed to her side, his eyes wide as he spoke.

"Mom? What's going on? Is the Princess okay?"

The young unicorn let out a sigh, shaking her head.

"She's the same as she was before. They've moved her to a private room in Ponyville Hospital...but so far, nothing's working."

Pinkie turned to her, raising an eyebrow.

"Not to criticise, but shouldn't she be sent back to Canterlot? I mean, they have a whole bunch of better healers over there, right?"

Twilight made her way further into the room, rubbing her temples as she replied to that.

"Under normal circumstances, they would. But the nature of this affliction is so strange, so unlike anything they've seen before, that they don't want to risk a long journey, just in case that makes things worse."

Pinkie nodded in response, and it wasn't long afterwards when Fluttershy added her voice to matters.

"So...what is her condition?"

Looking right at her, Twilight answered.

"From what we can tell...she's just...asleep. There's no physical harm that we can see on her. But...if she stays this way too long, without waking...the doctors have no doubt in their minds that she'll begin to...grow weaker."

She didn't elaborate, but the implication was clear, leading to even greater worry on Fluttershy's part. But for now, it was the turn of Applejack to speak up.

"Okay then...what about what she said to ya? That Tanty, Tantaby thing?"

Twilight nodded, turning around and facing a nearby set of bookshelves.

"The Tantabus."

Her eyes focused on the many books before her, scouring row after row until, finally, she spotted one title in particular. Her horn began to glow, and it wasn't long afterwards when that book started to levitate out of its shelf and now hovered in front of her. She narrowed her eyes at the thing, turning around and walking to a large table in the centre of the room. Curiosity gripped the rest of them, and they started to gather nearby, watching as Twilight placed the book upon the table and opened it. It was definitely an old tome, judging from the condition of many of the pages, and as Twilight flipped through them, they seemed to bear inscriptions and illustrations of many bizarre and unknown creatures. Then, at the end, she placed her hoof on one page in particular.

"Here it is."

Naturally, the other ponies and Spike gathered further, and saw the page she'd chosen. It was one in even worse condition than the rest, with what appeared to be a full half of it torn out. But on the page-piece that remained, they saw what she was looking at. It seemed to be a drawing of a cloud of some sort, albeit a strange and somewhat disturbing one, bearing many dark blues and purples to it. And as they kept their eyes on it, Twilight began to speak.

"The Tantabus...an ancient spirit of nightmares. In centuries past, it would plague the minds of ponies, homing in on those who suffered with nightmares and using those feelings of fear and dread to grow, become stronger."

She narrowed her eyes again.

"Had it been allowed to roam unchallenged, it would have grown powerful enough to escape the dream realm and into the physical world, becoming a threat to everypony."

However, shortly afterwards, her hoof then pointed to a second illustration, below the first. The others' eyes followed, and they saw that the new picture seemed to depict a very interesting event. It was still the Tantabus, but to one side was a sketch of a pristine white alicorn, her horn blasting powerful magic at the beast. As they focused on that image, Twilight continued.

"But it was through the intervention of alicorn magic that the Tantabus was thwarted, sealed away in the darkest depths of the dream realm, where it has remained dormant ever since."

She took her hoof off the book, and after a brief silence, Applejack looked to her and spoke.

"So...this thing...this Tantabus...is some kinda nightmare monster from way back when? Somethin Celestia fought back in the day?"

Twilight nodded, prompting Applejack to speak yet again, albeit with a look of confusion upon her face.

"But...if she beat it all those years ago...why's it back now?"

Twilight sighed.

"Some spells fade, Applejack. According to this text, it's been over a thousand years since the Tantabus was any kind of threat. Making a spell to imprison it for that long takes enormous effort. Perhaps...perhaps the spell's strength simply...came to an end."

A grunt of frustration was heard, prompting all to look at Pinkie.

"Well, I think I speak for everypony here when I say that this is just...sucky!"

A general nod of agreement spread throughout the room at that, to all except Spike, who looked to his Mother with renewed worry.

"Can...can this thing be stopped?"

Twilight looked to him, to his wide eyes, so clearly hoping she would have an answer. But, as much as she would have loved to calm him, to offer some kind of hope in this bad situation, she knew she had none. So, after gently placing a hoof upon his shoulder, she gave perhaps the only honest answer she could.

"It was alicorn magic that stopped the Tantabus before, Spike. And now..."

The youngster knew what she was implying, and so looked away, clearly concerned over this entire thing. Applejack, meanwhile, looked to her latest acquaintance with a degree of annoyance in her expression.

"Well, it's all well and good ta say that alicorns can beat it...but there's only one alicorn in the world! And she's already been taken out by this thing! If what y'all say is true...we're pretty much doomed, right?"

Twilight nodded.

"I know. If this creature had struck anypony else, Celestia would have been able to deal with it. At least, I hope she could have. But now?"

She hung her head low, staying silent as those around her began discussing the situation amongst themselves. The mood was one of wariness, and an overwhelming feeling of helplessness in the face of what had happened today. But, through it all, Twilight kept her eyes on that book, at that ruined page. She kept on staring at that picture, of Celestia fighting the Tantabus, and as she did so, something else became known to her. For there, just along the torn side of the page, there was something else. A second hoof, on the opposite side of the Tantabus to where Celestia was. But this hoof was not white, but a darker shade. Unfortunately, owing to the aforementioned tear in the page, the identity of the hoof's owner was obscured. However, as Twilight considered this, a new idea formed in her mind. One that seemed to cause more than a little worry for her.

"...Fluttershy."

Everypony stopped speaking to each other as soon as she'd said that, and the yellow pegasus in particular took interest now.

"Yes, Twilight?"

Slowly, Twilight sighed, looking to Fluttershy with an almost vulnerable expression.

"I...I know this is a lot to ask, given that we've only just met. But...I need you to look after Spike for a little while."

Naturally, this caused confusion in all of them, especially in Spike, who now stood beside her once more.

"Mom? Are...are you going somewhere?"

Twilight looked down to him, trying her best to sound reassuring as she gave him a brief pat on the head.

"I am. But it won't be for long. And hopefully...everything will be fine when I return."

The small dragon was clearly still concerned, but the way his Mother had spoken those words gave him a sense of calm, at least for now. He nodded, prompting her to lean forward and give a tender kiss upon his forehead. But when she now turned to Applejack, her expression was steely, more serious than before.

"Applejack...we may have an opportunity to set things right."

The farmer tilted her head.

"How? Y'all said there only alicorn magic could stop it. And...well...we've just lost our only alicorn!"

Looking down at the ground, Twilight sighed.

"There's a chance...that might not be the case."

Applejack continued to look confused, but said nothing as Twilight looked to her yet again, bearing a slight frown.

"Tell me...what lies beyond the Everfree Forest?"