Rarity sat down at a desk to go over the contents of a recently acquired book about dreams.

Her horn lit, passing through to the table of contents. This subject discussed there, that subject discussed here... She scanned the table until she came across a section titled "Anomalies and Peculiarities." She flipped to page 117, and began skimming for relevant information. Finally, she found it. "Dreams about the Future."

The text read as follows:

"In order to understand the anomaly that is the so called 'future telling dream,' we must first trace it back to its origin. As of writing, little research has been done into the topic of this phenomenon. It has existed since the dawn of time, as a rare, interesting occurrence. No methods of replicating the effects of the dreams have been discovered, but personal accounts all seem to conform to a set of particular guidelines.
- A dream will play out exactly as the situation will happen in real life.
- Such a 'dream' will last, at most, a minute.
- The event depicted in the dream happens within a week.
- When the dream is over, the person is awoken by something, whether that be by alarm clock, pony, or otherwise, they always wake up.
- The event depicted always happens.

Though the sample size available at the time of writing suggests this pattern, no indication of repeat incidents in individuals have been observed. With the rarity and spontaneity of such a phenomenon, it is nearly impossible to gather data on it. Ponykind may never know of its true workings."

Rarity closed the book. She'd heard enough.

It was late out. Luna's moon had risen by the time she got around to scanning for the information she wanted, and she was begging for an excuse to stop and go to bed. Fortunately, she had one. That little parasite of a thought in her head had left for the night, putting her at ease. She drifted off to sleep, happy that her mind had been sated.

Rarity approached the library hastily, terrified of whether Twilight was home or not. She went to knock, and hesitated. She doubted that she could do it... but she had to. She didn't have a choice but to find out. She gave the oak door a few hard knocks, and froze in anticipation.

Seconds later, the door opened...

Oh no.

...and inside the doorway stood none other than Twilight Sparkle.

"Hello, Rarity!"

Rarity shrieked.

She shot up from her resting position, waking startled in a cold sweat. It took her a moment to process what had just happened to her, but slowly, she put the pieces together in her head. Once everything fit together nicely, she was baffled by her dream. Upset, puzzled, and fearful of it. She didn't want to believe that it was true, but she had to.

She had woken up suddenly. The dream had lasted a measly 30 seconds. It ended so abruptly, but it felt so... real.

She denied it. She denied it all. This wasn't real, this was... a coincidence. An anomaly. She'd been through it before. She'd prove it. She wouldn't go to the library. That would do it. She could defy the future.

She rose from her bed, laden with doubts. She couldn't be destined to whatever her dreams said she'd do. She still had free will. She had to power to decide what happened to her. Her choices could not be so meaningless.

She was a panicked, frenzied mess, tormented by the thought that her own dreams could tell her what she would do, and what would happen, and that she couldn't change it at all.

Rarity had time to reflect on it all. What she had been thinking, and what she had told herself. It was all ludicrous. She needed to calm down, and collect her thoughts. She would approach the library, and find the truth, even if the truth absolutely petrified her.

Rarity walked across the streets of Ponyville. This time, they were quite a lot more active. They were more... alive. So many ponies crossing paths, so many places ponies had to go.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Applejack and Roseluck again. Since when did they become such great friends? She just had to ask her about it later.

She could also see the CMC, riding around in that wagon of theirs. Rainbow dash laid face up on a hastily moving cloud, keeping pace with the CMC. She seemed to be enjoying the ride.

Then, she saw something most peculiar. There was a foal in the middle of the road doing non-stop cartwheels.

Rarity had little time to ponder this, however. She was nearing the base of the Golden Oaks Library. She slowed her pace in dread, but she knew that she had to do it. It was her responsibility to find out. And so she did it.

Rarity cautiously approached the library, terrified of whether Twilight was home or not. She went to knock, and hesitated. She doubted that she could do it... but she had to. She didn't have a choice but to find out. She gave the oak door a few hard knocks, and froze in anticipation.

Seconds later, the door opened...

Oh no.

...and inside the doorway stood none other than Twilight Sparkle.

"Hello, Rarity!"

Rarity shrieked.

Author's Note

I decided to write another chapter, because I felt that this story needed a little more to work off of to really grab some people's attention. Also, I just enjoy writing about this.