Hey guys! Hope you enjoy this pretty dramatic chapter! Remember to review so that I can get your input!

Doctor Whooves was the first to notice the griffins. They were flying through the winter woods, and they were nearing Hot Shot, who was shortly behind Dainty Almond. There were about five of the strange beasts, flying gracefully, but baring the teeth in their beak as viciously as lions. Hot Shot was completely unaware of the horrors behind him, but he kept running, so he was probably going to be fine. The real problem was getting away from Dainty Almond, who was gaining on them.

How do I get away from them, Doctor Whooves thought. He looked over at Bright Darkness, running beside him. She could fly away. She could leave if she wanted to, and change into something fast and disappear ahead of him.

She looked at him, as if she knew what he was thinking. "I'm going to change into a griffin," she said to him, "You can hop on my back, and we can fly away from here."

"Okay," Doctor Whooves answered as Bright Darkness' wings expanded and her body changed into that of a griffin's. She paused for a moment and let Doctor Whooves climb onto her back. "They're getting closer!" Doctor Whooves looked back at Dainty Almond nearing them; he was about five feet away when Bright Darkness finally took off. She was only a few feet in the air when she changed back into her pegasus form and they fell down. "What happened?" Doctor Whooves asked.

"Something's keeping me from changing!" Bright Darkness started hyperventilating, "I can't change my form." Dainty Almond noticed this. At least they had gotten a small head start. "I'm just like every other pony now."

"It's okay," Doctor Whooves started to nudge her to run, "Let's get out of here first."

"I feel so weak," Bright Darkness started coughing. Dainty Almond and Hot Shot were struggling too, and one of the griffins came behind Hot Shot, picked him up, and killed him.

"We have to get out of here!" Doctor Whooves threw Bright Darkness over his back, and started running away. He wasn't very fast, but he was covering more ground than the alternative. The trees started getting thicker, and the griffins eventually couldn't make their way through the woods. That let up on Doctor Whooves' stress. He looked back at Dainty Almond who seemed to have passed out. "What's wrong with all of you? All of you are changelings, right? So maybe this has something to do with that."

"I know what's happening," Bright Darkness answered, "This is a warning. Whenever a natural disaster is going to happen, changelings' bodies' get weak. They're normally able to change though. I don't know why I can't change. Something bad is going to happen, so the first disaster of the arena is about to come."

Applejack looked toward the horizon on the peak of another mountain. She had started climbing without Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, because they were supposed to get the supplies from the cave. She said she'd find new shelter, and that it might be safer up high. She was right. The higher she went, the less ponies there would be around. That would be safer. She hoped.

She looked down toward her old cave. It wasn't that far down; she had only been climbing for about half an hour. The other peak was just fairly close to where they lived. She was waiting for Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Who knew when they'd come out.

After about fifteen minutes, Applejack thought that she saw Pinkie Pie coming out of the cave when she saw something red coming out of the opening. It was much redder than Pinkie Pie's pink, and it was flowing. Lava. That could be the only explanation. The lava was flowing down the mountain calmly, but there was no sign of Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy.

She waited a little longer. Maybe they would show up. The lava started flowing in larger amounts, and it went faster. She couldn't see the bottom of the mountain, but she assumed it was covered in lava too. "Applejack!" a voice shouted from below, "Applejack!" Applejack looked down and saw Pinkie Pie about fifteen feet below her. "Fluttershy fell in the lava!" Pinkie Pie called out, "I tried to go down but there's lava all over the base of the mountains. Climb up!" As she said this, the rocks underneath Pinkie Pie's hooves crumbled, and she was engulfed with the burning lava. Applejack could feel the heat from where she was, high above the spot where it started flowing.

"Pinkie Pie!" Applejack called out as she watched Pinkie Pie get burned alive, "No!" Applejack started climbing vigorously. Get away from the lava, she thought, that's your only hope Applejack. She started crying. It was a mixture of sadness and the smoke getting in her eyes. The smoke. She found a cave without lava in it, and took shelter there, away from the smoke. She could see nothing outside; it was too smoky to see anything. "Everyone I seem to make friends with," she said to herself, "Is either dead, or not real. All I can do is sit here until the horror ends." Her breathing got heavy. "Breath normally Applejack, breath normally. That's how you survive this." Not only was Applejack high in altitude, but the smoke was slowly invading her shelter. "Everything will be fine. You can survive this somehow. The gamemakers have killed two people from this disaster, so maybe they'll show you mercy." That's exactly where she didn't want to be. At the mercy of the gamemakers.

Oh my gosh! I wonder what will happen to Applejack! Can't wait for part 2! Remember to review! Bye!

(seriously though, I need you guys to review!)