It was a beautiful day in Manehatten. No clouds obscured the blue sky. The sun was beginning its descent in the sky as six mares discussed their sightseeing in their room at the Mare-iott Hotel.

"The library was amazing!" chirped Twilight Sparkle, the leader of the group. "I've never seen so many books in my life!" The other mares listened intently. Well, almost all of them...

"Books, schmooks" muttered Rainbow Dash. "Out of all the sights to see in Manehatten, you chose to see the library? You are so weird."

"And what's wrong with that?" chided Rarity, giving Rainbow a disapproving look. "Just because she doesn't like your idea of fun doesn't make her 'weird'."

"Whatevs" replied the spectrum maned pegasus. "Where are we going to eat tonight?"

"Ooh, ooh!" shouted the pink mare next to Rainbow. "What about Sunflower King? They have the best sunflower sandwiches! Theres also..."

"Actually, Pinkie" interrupted the librarian, "I already made reservations to go to the Turnip Garden down the street. Are you up to walking there Applejack?" Twilight looked over to the apple farmer.

"Ah'll be fine, Twi." she replied. "Just 'cause I can't buck trees doesn't mean I can't walk a couple of blocks."

Applejack looked at the scar on her back leg. Memories of being a prisoner of war came back to haunt her. She was shot as she attempted to escape one night. The escape was successful, but the damage to her leg was too severe for even unicorn magic to fix. Multiple surgeries were successful in replacing the damaged bone, but it did not subside the pain. She could no longer buck her apple trees. Getting around was a chore. Fortunately, Applebloom was old enough to buck the trees in place of Applejack.

"Are we ready to go?" asked Twilight. The friends nodded in approval. They trotted out their hotel room, with Applejack limping behind.

"RAINBOW DASH! WHERE ARE YOUR MANNERS?"

"What manners?" responded the weatherpony through a mouthful of daffodils. Rarity buried her head in her hooves out of embarrassment.

"Rainbow, can you at least chew with your mouth closed?" asked Twilight. This was met with a snort from the cyan mare.

The mares continued to talk amongst themselves. All of them, except one...

"Hey Fluttershy!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, startling the yellow pegasus. "You haven't said much all day. GASP! You look sad! You shouldn't be all frowny like that! What's the matter?"

"I'm fine" squeaked Fluttershy. She poked around at her salad.

She met Fireblazer after the war. He was a gentle stallion, despite his dynamic demeanor. He proposed to her after six months of dating. The wedding was attended by nearly every pony in Ponyville. The princesses attended as well. The couple stayed in Ponyville afterwards. Fluttershy still tended to her animals while Fireblazer took a job at the Cloudsdale weather factory. He died five years ago due to injuries he received in an accident there.

"Yer thinkin' 'bout Fireblazer, aren't ya?" asked Applejack. Fluttershy nodded while shedding a tear.

"Don't worry, darling. We are here for you." said Rarity, placing a foreleg around the veterinarian.

"Is everyone done?" asked Twilight. The girls nodded approvingly.

After they paid their bill, they began their trek back to their hotel room.

"OK, everypony! The train leaves at seven tomorrow. Does everyone have everything packed?"

"Of course, darling!" answered Rarity, pointing to a pile of more than a dozen suitcases.

"Did you remember to pack the kitchen sink?" said Rainbow Dash sarcastically, receiving a glare from the fashoinista in return.

"Calm down girls. We'll need to wake up at five thirty so we have enough time to get to the station." said Twilight. "If I were you, I would get to bed early tonight." This was met with a groan from the stunt flyer.

"It'll be good for you Rainbow." replied the bookworm with a smug smile on her face. "Good night!"

In the room below Twilight's, a stallion was ironing his suit.

"Honey, hurry up! We need to leave in five minutes if we are going to make it to the concert!" shouted his wife.

"I'm almost done, darling. Just give me thirty more seconds!"

True to his word, the stallion finished his ironing in the given time frame. He jumped into his suit and bolted out the door with his wife.

In his haste, he forgot to turn the iron off.

"Spike! Can you get down Divination for Dummies for me please?"

"Sure thing, Twilight" said the purple dragon as he ran up the ladder.

"Whoa, you need to dust up here" muttered Spike as he pulled the requested book from the shelf. The dust cloud gathered around the young dragon's head

"Ah-ah-AH-CHOO!"

A flame accompanied the sneeze, igniting the remaining books on the shelf.

"Oh no! Oh no! Get out of the way Spike! I'll put it out!" shouted Twilight. Her assistant ran outside the library.

She focused her magic in her horn and cast it at the blazing inferno. However, it only caused the fire to spread to the rest of the library.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Twilight shot awake, her heart throbbing in her chest. She was still in her bed. Her friends were stirring from their slumbers, probably as a result of her screaming. She breathed in, but instead of clean air flowing into her lungs, she felt hot smoke flowing in instead.

The librarian raced to the window and threw it open. Flames were shooting out the window below. By this time, the rest of her friends were awake, unaware of what was happening.

"We need to get out of here now! There's a fire!" shouted Twilight as she ran out the door. Her friends didn't need to be told twice as they followed her out.

Smoke had already filled the hallway of their floor. The mares crouched low to the floor to avoid breathing the toxic fumes that have accumulated overhead. Rarity complained about the effects of the smoke on her coat and mane, seemingly unaware of the real danger they were in. Applejack struggled to keep up with the group as her injured leg refused to cooperate with her. They were almost to the main stairs when Pinkie Pie heard a voice in one of the rooms.

"Help me"

"Twilight!" shouted Pinkie. "There's somepony in here!"

"I heard it too!" responded the purple unicorn. She crawled to the door and nudged it open.

"Hello? Is somepony in here?" Twilight cautiously entered the room.

Inside, a tan filly lay on the floor. She was barely breathing, but she was alive. Twilight focused the magic in her horn and levitated the pony out of the room. The group continued their escape from the hotel.

The group made it into the lobby when Pinkie Pie's body started shaking.

"Twitchy Twitch!"

Twilight, distracted by the Pinkie Sense, lost her telekinetic grip on the pony she had. She watched as the filly fell to the floor.

"ITS COLLAPSING!" Rarity screamed. Twilight looked up to see the building coming down.

She ran with all her might to the little pony that she had been carrying, with the rest of the group following behind. She leapt across the room, hooves outstretched, to push her out of the way of the falling debris. The filly, upon seeing Twilight running to her, stretched out her hooves towards her.

Twilight closed her eyes, She felt two small hooves in her own.

Next time:

The girls meet their first pony, who says Pinkie has killed him. What does he mean?

No spoilers, please.

This is my first fanfic. Please rate and review. If the reception is good enough, I might (might) put it on fim fiction