Rainbow Dash sighed in boredom and reached for another book. Ever since defeating Tirek and earning the Castle of Friendship, along with the title “Princess of Friendship”, Twilight Sparkle had practically begged each of her friends to come and help her get acquainted with her new home. Once translated, the blue pegasus found out that her friend wanted to move all of the books that she had managed to salvage from The Golden Oaks library into the new one in her kingdom. Although the girls each got a well earned break every now and then, the large task at hoof almost made the Wonderbolt reservist want to start hating books again. Rainbow shook her head and silently scolded herself, even though the frustrating assignment was beginning to really dig deep into the blue mare’s skin. She represented the Element of Loyalty, and she would stay true to that title no matter the difficulties she and her friends faced.

“Didja hear me, Sugarcube?” Applejack shouted to the airborne pegasus. Rainbow looked down and glided to the ground with a scowl on her face, earning a restrained giggle out of the orange mare. The blue flier rolled her eyes and moaned in annoyance.

“What is it, AJ?” she murmured halfheartedly. “Did Rarity get trapped behind a spider web again? You know how annoyingly difficult those things are to get out of feathers!”

The farmer shook her head and patted her friend’s shoulder comfortingly. Even though the cow girl’s eyes were filled to the brim with joy, Rainbow Dash still found herself incredibly irked by the strong earth pony’s happiness. The orange mare blew a stray strand of her mane out of her face and whooped, “Y’all look like you’ve been up all night!”

“That’s because I have,” the pegasus groaned again, turning away from the farmer with her ears pinned against her head. “Now if there’s nothing important going on that I need to hear about…”

"Hold yer ponies, Ah ain't done yet." Applejack grabbed her friend's tail with her teeth and pulled back, keeping the mare from flying away. Rainbow rolled her eyes and glared down at the orange mare, who was still abnormally ecstatic over what she had yet to reveal.

What do you want then?" she asked grumpily. The earth mare smiled again and waved her hoof as she trotted away, a little bounce in her step.

"Twilight mighta found somethin' that can help us figure out what the hay is goin' on with our minds!" AJ explained happily, her freckled face still pulled upward in a goofy grin. "See, there's this book that Princess Cadance sent her, along with a box of strange crystals, but that's besides the point. Apparently one of the ponies of the Crystal Empire had jus' seen it lyin' around, so they brought it to Shinin' Armor and asked if he knew who it belonged to. After findin' out that nopony had claimed it as their own, Shinin' sent it to Twilight ta see if'n she could figure out where it came from."

"Uhuh," the pegasus muttered half-heartedly as she hovered alongside the overeager mare. "Twilight got a new book. Okay. How is it supposed to help us find out what's happening with our heads?"

"She didn't say, jus' asked me ta come git ya," the farmer explained while bouncing up and down. "Since whatever's goin' on is affectin' you most of all, she said it's important that you hear what the book has to say. She did tell me that the book said somethin' about a prophecy, though."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes again and simply continued flying. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized the farmer had stopped talking. She had never really known the earth pony to be such a blabbermouth, but then again she had experienced stranger things. As she continued to move forward through the air, she noticed how quiet it had gotten. She couldn't even hear the fall of her friend's hooves anymore. She looked over to her right and was shocked to see, not the farm girl, but somepony she had only seen in faux memories. Her wings carried her over to the figure and lowered her in front of them, folding up at her side once she landed. She never could explain who it was, or why she was seeing them. Her body was enveloped in shadow, and only the tip of her fire-red mane and pretty eyes were truly visible. The figure tilted her head to the side and glanced at the pegasus, her sky-blue eyes sparkling with curiosity. The mysterious pony stood up and looked over to the side, guiding Rainbow's attention to something in the distance. She followed the outstretched hoof of the stranger and turned to see none other than Discord and... Fluttershy?

The yellow pegasus was smiling up at the draconequus, and he was smiling back. The two were holding hooves -- well, Discord was holding Fluttershy's hoof and she was holding his lion paw -- and walking up to Princess Celestia. This was the day when Fluttershy had announced to the princess that the Spirit of Chaos really had transformed, and went with her new friend to prove it. Rainbow still saw the blush of embarrassment on both of their faces, but this time she heard chuckling that didn't come from her. The stranger was laughing along with her, but when she smiled the pegasus noticed something off about her mouth that she hadn't seen before. The stranger's jaws were longer than usual for a pony, and her nose was... shiny?

Before she could try and figure out what was going on, Rainbow Dash felt something large and powerful plow into her side, knocking her to the floor. She shook her head and opened her eyes again, no longer seeing the stranger or Fluttershy or Discord. Instead she saw Applejack standing next to her, holding her hoof and glancing down at her curiously. She helped her friend off of the floor and asked, "It happened to ya again, didn't it?"

The Wonderbolt-reservist nodded her head wearily and rubbed her skull with a moan of annoyance. She sighed and softly admitted, "I didn't think it would happen again, not so fast anyway."

The farmer looked at her friend in confusion again. She joined the flyer's side as they once again started heading down to meet Twilight. She shook her head and stated sadly, "It happened to ya in the library before Ah came in, am Ah right?"

"How'd you know?" the pegasus sarcastically questioned, her eyes focused on the ground as she walked. The cow girl didn't say another word, whether out of ideas on how to respond or just worried about her friend, Rainbow didn't know. All she did know was that she wanted these strange reenactments of past memories to stop so she could get back to doing her own thing without worrying about passing out in the middle of the sky.

Up ahead was a door leading to the room Twilight must've been in. Rainbow Dash quickened her pace and turned to head inside. Once there, she saw Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and the princess gathered around a table, waiting for the last two members of the group to arrive. Rainbow walked over to the alicorn and sat down without a word, only looking around for any signs of the book AJ had mentioned. When she couldn't find it anywhere, she impatiently turned toward her violet friend and rested her elbow on the table, letting her chin fall into her hoof. She huffed and instantly questioned the royal pony, "So, where's this book, Twi? Can it really help me get rid of these weird vision thingies?"

The princess rolled her eyes and placed the novel, face down, on the table in front of herself before she replied, "Keep in mind that you're not the only one here who's been having these dreams, Rainbow Dash. It's been affecting all of us. But to answer your question, yes. This should help us figure out what is the cause of the dreams and maybe even help us get rid of them."

"Have you found anything thus far, Darling?" Rarity asked gently as she ran her pink comb through her hair once more, a mirror held in front of her face so she could watch where it was she was guiding the beauty tool. Once satisfied she placed both items down next to her and added, "I swear, these dreams are driving me up the wall. I had one just this morning while I was doing my makeup. When I finally snapped out of it, my mascara was all over the place! It took me hours to erase that awful mistake and redo it entirely!"

The blue pegasus giggled under her breath. In a way, the prissy unicorn was just like herself. She wanted to make herself the best her she could be. Even if their motives were different, they still aimed to be better and better with each day. Though it was hardly possible that Rarity would ever willingly play an actual sport or that Rainbow would ever wear makeup.

"Actually," Twilight smiled happily as she levitated the book into the air, still keeping the cover a secret to all but herself. She moved it to the center of the table and replied, "I have found something that may interest all of you. Especially you, Fluttershy."

"Does that mean this has something to do with animals?" Pinkie squealed in excitement. Confetti randomly exploded from her mane when the alicorn nodded her head and flipped the book over to reveal the cover. When the book turned out to actually be a journal, the excitement in the room intensified dramatically. But what excited Rainbow was the name of the writer.

"Jackson Lakefall wrote this?!" she chirped, suddenly the most ecstatic pony in the room. Her eyes were focused on the cover, scanning the name over and over again. When she looked over at Twilight and saw how clueless she appeared, she couldn't help but laugh. She pointed her hoof at the royal and teased, "You haven't heard of him before, have you? Oh this is rich!"

"Why is it so exciting, Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked softly, her head tilted in confusion. The rainbow maned pegasus laughed again and pointed at the book as she quickly explained, "He's one of the main characters in the new Daring Do novel! I haven't even read it yet, and even I know more about it than Twilight! Priceless!"

Twilight didn't seem very amused. She rolled her eyes again and opened the novel to the first page, where a date and short description of a location were written down. She tapped the page and held it up for her friends to see, letting them get a good look before she explained what it was about.

"This is Jackson's journal of his adventures past Equestria," the alicorn explained. "Most of the book, however, is focused around one certain location and one certain topic. I think that this section of the journal may be able to help us. I read a little part of this already, and what he has written down is incredible! Listen to this!"

The princess cleared her throat and held the book in front of her nose so she could read. She quietly inhaled and began effortlessly. "Day one of my exploration. I've finally made it past the mountains of the Crystal Empire and am now exploring the far stretches of the arctic north. I believe the area I am currently heading to is called Tundravania, but I am not certain if any creatures are inhabiting that land. I will have to wait and see what awaits me."

Dash quickly lost interest in what her friend was reading. She looked down and saw a ball by her hooves, one that Spike had received at some point. She picked it up and started bouncing it against the floor, thinking to herself how now would've been a good time to be swallowed up into a false memory. Easily growing bored with the simple task she had given herself, she tossed the ball over her shoulder and let out a sigh. She rested her chin on the table and let her mind wander, waiting for something to happen other than what was already. Just as her eyelids started to fall, however, she heard a soft shriek of surprise come from her fellow pegasus. Her head shot up with worry, but Fluttershy quickly turned to Twilight as she shakily giggled, "Wow! I didn't know you could do fire magic! That's impressive, Twilight!"

Rainbow strained her neck to see what her friend had meant by "fire magic." A small ball of fire was floating next to the yellow pegasus, simply hovering there like it had nothing better to do except hover there. She rolled her eyes and turned to exit the room when she heard the alicorn suspiciously reply, "Uh, what are you talking about? I'm not doing anything."

"But then... how..." Fluttershy's eyes dilated and she leapt into the air with a scream, instantly shooting out the open door and into the hallway. Her sudden outburst was quickly repeated by Rarity and even Pinkie Pie, all three mares finding somewhere other than that room to hide in. The blue pegasus stood up and flew over to where her friend had been sitting, only to find that the fire had grown much larger and was still gaining size.

"Twilight!" she called over her shoulder sternly. "Applejack, you too!"

"What is going on?" the princess asked worriedly as she made her way over the scattered chairs. Rainbow waved them over frantically and pointed at the burning flame with her wing, instantly regretting it when one of her feathers caught on fire. She yelped and shook her wing to extinguish the flame, inching backward when she felt Twilight's beam of magic shoot by. She turned to go check on her friends when Twilight was suddenly flung forward and into the table, breaking it in half and sending both pieces sliding across the crystal floor. Something was on top of the princess. Something large. And alive. The creature moaned and shakily stood up, glaring down at its prey. The beast drew back its lips in a snarl, revealing two sets of razor-sharp pearl-white teeth attached to its powerful looking jaw, opening up and falling closer and closer to Twilight's neck.

Rainbow Dash felt something snap inside of her. She let out an enraged scream and charged headfirst at the monster, ramming into its side and shoving it to the floor. She leapt over her friend and drove her forehoof into her opponent's ribs, earning a satisfying "CRACK" once completing the motion. The creature gasped in pain and fell to the ground, its feet scrambling for something to steady itself. Rainbow wasn't going to give it that chance. She leapt into the air and swung her hind leg up and over so that it came crashing down onto her opponent's head. As her hoof came in contact, however, she noticed something that seemed off. Her enemy had a fiery red mane and white-gray fur, with a shimmering black nose at the end of its blocky snout. She shook her head as she landed back on all fours, her stance already a fighting position and ready to pounce. She sprung forward and rammed her opponent out the door, sending it flying a little ways down the hallway. She raced after it to follow up with another attack when it suddenly turned to face her and opened its eyes.

Its eyes were a stunning sky-blue, sparkling in the light of the castle. They were blurred and full of fear, obviously because of what it had just been through. It shook its head and snarled, the fur on the back of its neck rising as a show of force. The monster bared its fangs and spat, obviously preparing to fight against its opponent. It had no idea what it was up against.

Rainbow Dash smirked and pawed at the crystal floor, her wings erect and ready for take off. She inhaled calmly and exhaled just the same, her bones and muscles filled with confidence. She lowered her front and pushed off the ground with her hind legs, shooting herself forward and directly into her opponent. The creature let out a confused yelp and weakly scratched at the pegasus, not even breaking her pure blue skin. Rainbow thrust her hoof into the beast's neck and flew it into the wall, keeping its head pressed against the crystal background as she raced forward. Her opponent was losing strength fast, she could feel its resisting strength fading. She grinned in delight and pulled the animal away from the wall, beginning to swing it around in a circle, picking up speed the more she spun. She let go and laughed as it crashed into a pile of stacked boxes near the entrance of the kingdom, quickly demolishing it. The creature didn't move.

The blue mare hovered over to the site of destruction and peered over the edge of one of the destroyed boxes. The strange animal was laying there, belly up, staring at the wall as it started to succumb to unconsciousness. It must've heard the flyer moving around, causing it to look over at Rainbow. A chill ran up her spine once those eyes met hers. Something about this animal was... off somehow. The beast took a shaky breath, as if in surprise, upon realizing who it was that had tackled it. It squinted its eyes as if unsure of something before its lips curved up in a tiny smile and it whispered ever so softly a few words.

"Rainbow... Dash... it is... you..." The creature's head fell back against the shattered crate, the last of its energy finally spent. As the rising and falling of its chest began to slow, it managed to mutter to itself, "I made it... guys." To say that Rainbow was surprised would've been an understatement. She examined the unconscious animal's face closely, trying to find something that could prove her wrong. But everything matched.

"No... way," she whispered to herself in disbelief. She slowly stepped away from the wreckage, repeatedly muttering those two words over and over again. "No way no way no way... That can't be her. It just... can't!"

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight frantically shouted, her voice filled with worry. The violet alicorn galloped over to her friend and skidded to a halt nearby, instantly noticing the pegasus's shaken posture. She followed the path of where her eyes still stared and gasped when she saw the wrecked boxes, one of the beast's paws hanging over the edge of the top of the broken pile. She backed away from it and joined her friend's side. She briefly glanced over at the flyer and asked softly, "Did you... did you kill it?"

"No," Rainbow muttered in response, still shaken by what had just happened. She couldn't believe what her eyes were seeing. She sat down and let out a stressed sigh, her ears pinned back in disbelief and weariness. She shook her head and asked in return, "Twilight, what have you seen in your dreams?"

The alicorn answered without hesitation, her focus still on the unmoving creature. "I saw multiple things. But there was always somepony hidden by shadows that was right next to us. Now that I think about it, she was usually beside you. She was bigger than any of us, but still roughly the same size. Why do you ask now?"

Rainbow Dash walked over to the stack and flew above the wreckage. She waved her friend over and pointed at the conquered beast's head, quietly asking the royal alicorn, "She had a mane like this and eyes as blue as the sky, right? I think... I think this might be the pony from our dreams."

Twilight stared for a moment, observing the features on the pony from dreams. She gasped and reached behind her back, pulling out the book from before. She flipped through the pages until she landed on the one she wanted, and anxiously she held it up for Dash to see.

"That's no pony, Rainbow Dash," the princess shivered. Rainbow scanned the page and arrived at the bottom, where a roughly but detailed image was drawn. A creature with a silver coat and eyes of yellow was etched onto the page, with a short paragraph written beneath. Twilight continued wearily, her eyes filled with bewilderment. "This... is far from a pony."

The blue mare inhaled sharply when she finished reading the message below the image. She shook her head and slowly read aloud, "Never has an Equestrian pony met with these beautiful mammals. I am the first one to see them. With jaws that can crush bone and powerful muscles that can carry them for miles at a time without stopping, I have to say that you would be wise not to get on their bad side! It is no wonder the few legends of these magnificent creatures picture them as monsters, they could easily be misjudged. But there is something else I've found out. Their name. These creatures are known by one name and one name alone, and I think it is wonderfully beautiful. Canis Lupus or, in simpler terms, the Gray Wolf of the North."

Author's Note

(Believe it or not, I was actually listening to Siames: The Wolf as I finished this up #FunAndUselessFactOfTheDay Oh, and also this was the prologue , so... )

Please don't kill me down in the comments (or anywhere) if you feel that my story is terrible. (By the way, this is the very first story I am submitting to the internet so please go easy with your harsh judgement) Trust me, I get enough of that out of my little brother who absolutely hates MLP. (Or so he says ) Anyway, if you have any ideas on how I can improve this, please let me know in a kind way. Or not a kind way. Whatever levitates your spellbook. And before you start whinnying about how Rainbow Dash and the others are gay, let me assure you THEY. ARE. NOT. Ship whoever you want, I may or may not agree with it. If you insist on declaring my stories as gay because I show a relationship forming between, say, Applejack and Rarity, that's just them strengthening their friendship. FRIENDship. Please do not picture me as a mean pony, I truly try not to be, and if I come of as just that I apologize. Before you mention it, no I don't have an editor. I would be honored if you would help me with my crap you possibly just read. Enjoy the rest of the story, I can't wait for your feedback! (That was not meant as sarcasm, I really need feedback so my stuff isn't crap.) If you have any questions just ask away and I'll do my best to answer them! (Though honestly, since ponies are gonna be jerks and just give this thing a dislike once it's out, why bother? Just go and find someone else's work to read, I'm sure it's much better. Like, for example, Calm Wind! His work's fantastic *unless you hate swearing but then it's still good just prepare yourself* so go check him out instead of this junk!)
"Will you just shut up and get working on the rest of the story already?"
"Sorry, I had to get this all out of the way first."

P.S. this will also be found on Deviantart soon enough, plus a comic version drawn by me (once I get my dang art program to work ) and I'm sorry for the long post, and I don't have any potatoes to make up for it either.

P.P.S. yes I liked my own story, it makes me feel better #DontTakePityIAmMessingAroundALot
#EnoughWithTheHashtags #YouNotFunny