"Zecora said that Eberron has a design," Scarlet explained as the three of them sat at a table outside a cafe, awaiting their orders.

It was the next day and Scarlet, Shadow Step, and Candy Jolt met up to talk about what Zecora said the night before. It kept them all up, but it especially stayed in Scarlet's mind.

Scarlet knew there was something up, ever since that day on the airship. Just twenty-four hours ago, she was no closer to figuring it out than she was the day the airship exploded. But now, with what Zecora said, it felt like they were so close to seeing the big picture. To seeing what all this meant. To untying the knots. There were just a few loose ends that prevented them from seeing the full picture.

"I'm talking about omens," Scarlet continued. "How do we know, that just by sitting here…by sipping a drink or breathing the air…or…or even crossing the intersection, we haven't started in motion the events that will someday lead to our death…forty years from now, or ten years, or even tomorrow?" Scarlet paused, a small smile forming on her face as it all slowly started to make sense, piece by piece. She paused, looking at both mares before continuing. "We don't unless we open ourselves up to the signs we're given." Scarlet levitated a scrap of paper with Midnight Blue's name and set it on the table between the two mares. The same one that landed on the newspaper article two nights ago.

A waitress walked over to them, levitating a tray of three drinks their way, setting each drink to their respective pony, a black tea for Shadow, a smoothie and piece of pie for Candy, and a latte for Scarlet. They were silent until the waitress walked away, completely unaware of their grim conversation and the tragedies that had befallen them all.

"Umm…I…I don't really…understand anything you…you just said. All I know is that I'm now scared to drink my smoothie or…or eat my pie." Candy said, staring down at her food fearfully.

"Yeah, I agree with Cotton Candy over there. None of this makes any sense." Shadow looked down at the piece of paper, her eyes widening briefly before looking up at Scarlet. "Did you see Midnight die?" Shadow asked, wondering if she did, what the hell was the point of breaking into the morgue if she already knew it wasn't a suicide? "Did it happen again, like on the airship?"

Scarlet shook her head. "No, it didn't, but it might as well have." She said simply, not wanting to get into those details when she was on the precipice of something huge. A revelation of sorts.

"Yeah, apparently there was an…an owl and…and a dress…and a paper, which I…I guess is that one," Candy gestured to the piece of paper. "Oh! And the fan. Can't forget the fan."

Shadow blinked, looking thoroughly confused.

Candy shrugged. "Apparently it's…it's complicated." Candy gestured to Scarlet with her head, to whom Shadow promptly followed with her gaze at Scarlet, clearly wanting an explanation.

Scarlet shook her head, wanting to get back on track. "That…that doesn't matter. What does matter is that this," Scarlet put a hoof to the paper. "This is a message, guys. Or somepony hinting at some kind of design."

"Or something. Like Eberron." Candy muttered, it finally starting to click together.

Upon the insistence of Candy, they decided to call Death Eberron, instead of…well, Death. According to Shadow, Eberron was the ancient Equestrian God of Death. Seemed fitting enough.

Scarlet nodded. "Exactly." A small smile appeared on Scarlet's face.

Shadow shook her head. "Bullshit. If that were the case, you'd be able to find omens anywhere. It'd be all about perspec…"

Shadow's voice faded into nothing but background noise as something caught the corner of Scarlet's eye. She looked towards the window of the cafe and saw the reflection of a PVC pipe swinging directly towards them from across the street. She spun around, ready to jump out of the way, only to see nothing.

"…with a C and ends with an E, but so does choke. So, does that mean we'll choke to death?" Shadow said when Scarlet tuned back into what she was saying. She had that same feeling of panic and dread. The same feelings she had on the airship and when she saw the scrap of paper the night Midnight died.

"Shadow's right. We…we want to hear you but…but we'll go nuts if you start with this…this crazy stuff." Candy agreed.

She shook her head, turning to her friends again. "Alright, look, Zecora said that Eberron has a design, right? Now, what if you two, me, Midnight, Red, Melody, Lightning, and Principal Cinch messed up that design? For whatever reason, I saw Eberron's plan... and we cheated it…"

Meanwhile, across the street, on top of a building, construction was going on to add another story or two to the building. The building was almost complete and ready to open, and they already had tenants lined up to live in the new apartments it'd bring.

"…but what if it was our time…?"

They lined the structure with PVC pipes, just to get the layout. It was a new technique their boss wanted to try, and while the workers weren't happy about it, what the boss wanted, the boss got.

"What if we weren't meant to get off that airship…?"

"Yo, B!" One of the construction workers yelled from the edge of the roof.

A brown earth pony stallion turned around, a clipboard and pen in his hooves, the sheet full of tally marks from counting materials. "What's up!"

"What if it still is our time…?"

"I gotta get going. My kid had an accident and is in the hospital. I'm gonna need you to operate the machines today!"

The construction worker's eyes widened in nerves. "I…I don't know, man. I'm not so confident about working them machines…"

"If it is, then it's not finished...and we will die…"

"C'mon B, you got this! You're trained in the basics. Everypony is. Look, everypony here are newbies! Which means I need you to step up. It's no big deal. You're just gonna move a couple of PVCs."

"Now, not later…"

"Can't we just do it tomorrow?" The worker asked.

"We could, but we're already behind as it is and if we get any more behind, the boss ain't gonna be happy! And you know how he gets when he ain't happy!"

The construction worker bit his lip. "A-alright. Yeah, sure, whatever."

"Thanks, dude! You're a lifesaver!"

"…unless we find the patterns and cheat it again." Scarlet finished, and she could practically see the gears turning in their heads.

The three of them were silent for a moment, not sure what to make of this. They glanced at each other, both of them still not comprehending. Sure, it was one thing to believe that fate had a hoof in their deaths, but a whole nother to think that Death itself had a vendetta against them for not dying the way they were supposed to, and was now plotting its evil revenge against them. It just didn't make sense.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Scar, but we're…we're just not understanding. I mean…it's just something that's difficult to…to wrap our minds around, you…you know? And not…not because you're…you're not explaining it right cause you're…you're doing a great job. It's just…"

"Crazy. It's just crazy." Shadow interrupted harshly. "That mare had no idea what the hell she was talking about. I mean, she lives in the middle of the Everfree Forest, for fuck's sake! It's just some old forest superstition shit!"

Across the street, Red was walking with his marefriend, when he spotted Flare chattin' up with two mares he thought looked vaguely familiar. He sneered, staring at them. He was already in a bad enough mood as it was. He had been in a whirlwind of emotions the last two days and he had no idea where the hell they came from.

He tried to look the other way, but he couldn't. Shaking his head, he abruptly changed course, stomping his way toward the three mares, stomping across the street. Ponies hauling carriages skidded to a stop, not wanting to run into the pissed-off stallion. Melody was close behind him, trying to talk him out of it, but he didn't listen.

It was then Principal Cinch walked out of the cafe the three mares were sitting outside of. She froze when she saw Scarlet. She tried to avoid that mare as much as possible, and lately, she had been doing a pretty good job. Until now. Now she stood just a couple of hoofsteps away.

Something about Scarlet terrified Cinch. How could it not? She just predicted an entire airship exploding. Not to mention, she was there when Midnight was found dead. Wherever that mare went, death followed closely behind and Cinch didn't want to be anywhere near it.

"Oh, looks like we got ourselves a bit of a reunion here," Red said in a tone that made everypony uncomfortable as he approached the group, the air thick with tension. "So, when ya movin'?"

"Red, please. Just let it go," Melody begged, practically on Red's tail.

"A…a couple of weeks," Principal Cinch answered with as much dignity as she could. Stiff upper lip. It was a motto she lived by and she was not about to let some deathbringer change that.

Scarlet stood up as Lightning approached, seeing the altercation forming from the sports store he was browsing in. Scarlet counted. Melody Note. Shadow Step. Red Haze. Lightning Bolt. Candy Jolt. Principal Cinch. And herself. That made seven. Good. They were all here.

Lightning was by Scarlet in an instant. "Hey babe. How are you doing? I tried coming by a couple of times, but your brother said you didn't want to see me."

"I'm…I'm fine. I…I was just uh…dealing with some stuff. Actually…it's stuff I need to talk to you about." Scarlet raised her voice to address the chatting group. "To all of you, actually."

"…lived here your whole life," Red turned to Scarlet. "And now she's got to move, ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!" Red yelled at Scarlet, who, at the same time, yelled in Red's face, "…because WE'RE IN DANGER!"

"ENOUGH!" Melody Note yelled at the top of her lungs. "BOTH OF YOU!"

Everypony immediately fell silent, looking about as shocked as they were when the airship exploded. Nopony had ever seen this side of Melody, not even Red. Melody was kind, shy, and sweet. She didn't yell at the top of her lungs.

But Melody was frustrated. All she wanted to do was move on with her damn life, but ever since that day, a month and a half ago, all it's felt like was that her life was at a standstill. Like she was just stuck in that day, over and over. It was stupid. It was like she might as well have died on that airship right along with them for all her life was worth right now. And that was not how she wanted to live it. She got a second chance at it and she was gonna be dammed if she wasted even one second.

"They died!" Melody continued, tears in her eyes. "And we lived! Get over it. Because right now, it feels like we've died right along with them." She turned to Red. "I will not let this ship explosion be the most important thing in my. Life!" She hit Red in the chest twice as she said the last two words, her anger finally boiling over.

Back across the street, up on top of the building, the stallion climbed into the crane, feeling a little uneasy. He started it up and moved the arm down on the pile of PVC pipes on the ground below, lowering the wire down until it hit the ground. The workers below hooked it onto the wire that held the pile of PVC pipes together.

The workers then gave a nod to the stallion at the top of the building, who was looking over the edge. The stallion then turned to the worker operating the crane, nodding to him and stepping back.

As the crane began to pull up the PVC pipes, a strongish wind blew through, rocking the pile of pipes. It crashed into the wall of the half-finished building, and while PVC pipes were typically durable, one was manufactured wrong by accident and the end chipped off, creating a good-sized staked end.

One of the workers noticed this and tried yelling at them to lower the pile back down, but the ponies at the top couldn't hear them. Suddenly, the pile of PVC pipes began swinging back and forth. Up above, the crane was jamming, which was odd since the crane was only two years old and it shouldn't be malfunctioning now. The worker tried to pull the lever that made it go backward, but it would jam up before the whole vehicle jerked backward.

The PVC pipes began swinging dramatically, back and forth, as the crane and its arm moved sporadically. The pipes kept spinning until the pointed end was pointed across the street. That was when the wire slowly began to unravel from the stress on it, even as the pipes were swinging back and forth.

Suddenly, the crane jerked and the wire broke, sending the PCV pipes flying…

"…but I'm moving on, Red," Melody continued, tears filling her eyes, but she would not let them fall. She loved Red Haze, she really did. Under all that anger was a kind and sweet soul. But it was time she started looking out for herself too. She turned and started to walk across the street, but when Red called after her, she stopped and turned around, glaring at him, her back to the half-finished building. "I'm done. It's over, Red. We're over. If you want to waste your life beating the shit outta Lightning and everypony else who even looks at you wrong, then…then…you can just drop fucking dead."

Suddenly, the sharpened point of the broken PVC pipe flew straight into Melody's forehead, smack dab in the middle, blood spattering on the five teens and former principal.

For a moment, for one blissful moment, time seemed to stop. Everything froze as the world came to a standstill. The six ponies stood there open-mouthed, and though that moment was only half a second at best, it was one they hoped could last forever.

And then that moment was over and reality came crashing back in. Principal Cinch, her mind the first to process what the hell just happened, screamed a high-pitched wail, Candy following not far behind. Shadow stumbled back in shock, a hoof to her mouth, her eyes wide and filled with tears. She crashed into the cafe table, knocking it over.

Red screamed and hurried over to Melody's dead body, holding it close to him, blood and all, screaming with tears in his eyes, rocking back and forth. Scarlet pushed herself face first into Lightning's chest, who wrapped his hooves around her in a tight embrace, not wanting to look at the body anymore, but that image would forever be ingrained in her head. She'd see it for as long as she lived, however long that would be, always sitting in the back of her mind, just barely visible.

The six of them just stood there, as chaos littered the streets and screams filled the air.

Scarlet stared blankly at the wall before her, tears streaming down her face. The entire scene, every horrible minute of it, played through her head, over and over, all the way from the PVC pipe she saw in the window and promptly ignored, to the horrifying moment the PCV pipe went through Melody's forehead.

She could still see Melody's dead body, clear as day. Those open, wide, vacant eyes that had no soul to them. Melody's mouth resting half open. If it wasn't for the lifelessness that permeated her body, it almost looked like Melody was gaping at something. And the hole in her head, that still had the PVC pipe sticking through it.

Scarlet heard a knock on her bedroom door. She didn't say anything as her brother stepped in, holding a glass of water in his magic. He softly set the glass of water down on the nightstand next to her and sighed heavily.

He couldn't imagine what his little sister was going through. To predict an airship exploding, but only able to get a few off, then to watch in real-time as it happened, see her friends killed like that, and know every detail of it from the premonition. And then to have one of the survivors she saved kill himself and witness the other one get killed by some freak accident. It was a trauma he couldn't imagine.

He just knew his little sister was gonna be fucked up for years, if not the rest of her life.

"I uh…brought you some water…in…in case you were thirsty…" Cliff trailed off, waiting for her to say something, only for her to remain silent. "Are…are you doing okay?"

"I…I saw a PVC pipe go through my former classmate's forehead, killing her instantly, and I could've stopped it. I just washed her blood off of me an hour ago." She looked at her brother with wide, shocked, eyes that were both emotionless and full of them. "You tell me."

Cliff swallowed. "Y-yeah, you're right. Dumb question. Well…umm…there are some friends here to…to see you…"

"I don't want to see anypony…" Scarlet muttered.

"I-I know, and I tried telling them that but…they said…they needed to talk to you about…Eberron? And they say it's urgent. Does that name sound…familiar to you?"

Scarlet flinched, blinking back tears. "Yeah…yeah it does. Send them in."

Cliff hesitated. "Scar…I don't know who or what this Eberron guy is but…just…promise me you're being careful. I…I can't lose you too."

Scarlet was silent for a moment before answering, "If things go to a plan, being careful won't matter."

Cliff hesitated before turning away and walking out of the room, sending in Shadow Step and Candy Jolt. They rushed in, their eyes wide, their bodies tense. Upon seeing their panicked faces, Scarlet stood up, her face worried, her mind thinking what now?

"What is it?" Scarlet asked, not liking the looks on the two mares' faces.

The two of them glanced at each other. It was Candy who spoke. "They found the cause of the explosion."

Scarlet blinked. "They…they did? Wait…how do you know?"

"My stepfather, he's a part of the Royal Guard." She paused before reaching into her saddlebag and grabbing a rolled-up piece of parchment. "Might've broken into his house and stolen these."

She unfurled the parchment and laid it out on the bed, revealing a map of some sort. "And what are these?"

"Blueprints. More specifically, airship blueprints."

"And…and there's something we need to…to show you. We…we may have found a…a connection between the airship explosion and…and Blue's and Melody's deaths."

Scarlet joined Candy and Shadow at the bed, looking down at the blueprints. Scarlet was full of anticipation, just hoping this would give her the answers she needed, but worried that what Shadow had to show her would only raise more questions than answers, putting them back at square one.

Okay, look." Shadow pulled out a pencil. "This is where Midnight and Melody sat." Shadow marked the corresponding seats with MB and MN. "CJ and I sat in these two seats." Again, a mark of CJ and SS. "You and Dazzle Feathers–"

"Flash." CJ corrected. "Her name was Dazzle Flash."

Shadow shrugged. "I like my version better. Anyway, you and she switched seats, putting you and Lightning here." Another two seats labeled, SF and LB. "And Principal Cinch and Red sat in these two spots. Am I missing anypony?"

Scarlet and CJ looked the blueprint over, counting each initial, before shaking their heads.

So, Shadow continued. "There was a gas leak, causing the balloon to blow up. The wood that made up the upper deck was weakest here, right above Midnight's seat, which was where the wood would broken and fell apart first. One of the wires that held the wood together fell and would've cut up his neck, causing him to drown in his own blood."

"Just like he drowned in the tub…" Scarlet muttered.

Shadow nodded. "He would've been the first to die."

"N-no. That's…that's not right. I remember the vision. The ponies in the back would've been the first."

"Are you…sure about that?" Candy asked. "It…it was an airship crash after all. Things were…were chaotic."

Scarlet took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and did something she swore she'd never do again. She thought back to the vision in detail, this time however, noticing new details she didn't notice before, seeing ponies she hadn't known then, but recognized now…

Once the flight attendants all made sure everypony was buckled in, they took their seats and buckled themselves in. The whole airship was alight with conversation as it took off, the workers untying the ropes that kept the ship in place. With a honk of its mighty horn, it took off, turning a wide west.

Scarlet took a deep breath as everything seemed to be going to plan. Everything was well and good. She gripped Lightning's hoof, squeezing her eyes shut as the ship continued forward. Shadow barely glanced up from her book, glancing around the ship before going back to it, blowing and popping a bubble of gum.

And then it shook. And then it shook again. Everypony was suddenly silent as the ship seemed to stop midair.

And then it fell and all chaos broke loose.

Everypony screamed as the ship continued to fall. There was a burst from above and Scarlet could've sworn she heard one of the flight attendants say that the balloon blew up, catching the deck above them on fire. The whole thing lasted less than a minute, but it felt like hours.

From the heat above and the fall pressure, all the windows shattered. One of the glass pieces flew into Midnight's neck, causing him to drown in his own blood. He choked and grabbed his neck with his hooves, trying to stop the bleeding, but he couldn't. Candy screamed as Midnight's body fell limp.

The wood of the ship began to weaken from the heat and began breaking apart as the rudder tried to operate but failed and eventually also blew up from the pressure building from it trying to work. The ponies in the back were next to go, Dazzle Flash and Diamond Blossom screaming as they caught on fire and their seats fell from the ship, falling to the ground.

Wooden boards, saddlebags, and other machinery circulated the cabin, a particular chunk of sharp pointed wood going straight through Principal Cinch's chest, killing her instantly. Students fell through the holes in the falling-apart airship, falling to the ground from the air. Another piece of wood hit Melody Note's head, also killing her instantly. Red Haze yelled with tears in his eyes as he saw his marefriend's dead body.

Candy, distraught over her friend's death, cried her heart out before she was beheaded by a stray piece of metal. Red, so heartbroken over his marefriend's death, unbuckled himself and let go, falling to his death.

The airship fell apart as it fell to the ground, students and teachers, among other passengers, falling to their deaths, the pegasi unable to catch themselves in time. Shadow Step's wing ended up breaking from being hit with debris, pieces of her skin burning from the flames. She dropped dead, succumbing to her injuries.

Suddenly, one of the side engines blew up, catching what remained of the airship on fire, burning the remaining passengers to their deaths as the remains fell to the ground, not a survivor in sight.

Scarlet gasped as she came up from the depths of her memories. Candy and Shadow were looking at her with concern and worry, watching her carefully. Scarlet blinked back tears, the whole room suddenly feeling small, gasping for air that never seemed to be quite enough.

She looked up at Candy, but all she could see was her headless body. Shadow was no better, only able to see her bruised and burned body. She blinked away tears, trying to calm herself down.

"Scar, what'd…what'd you…see?" Candy asked concern and fear in her voice.

Scarlet clenched her jaw. "You guys were right. Midnight did die first. But it wasn't by a wire. It was by a piece of glass. And…" Scarlet paused, looking away.

"There's more?" Shadow asked, raising both eyebrows.

"Melody Note and Principal Cinch both died at the same time…which means, if Eberron really was trying to take us out, and was doing it in the same order as it happened during the explosion…"

"Cinch is next," Shadow muttered, her eyes wide. "And she's soon."

Author's Note

I had to put the drop fucking dead quote. It was one of my favorite parts. I'm a sucker for irony