Chapter 1

Ten Years Later...

Time had passed quickly. Despite that, Manehatten was still the same bustling metropolis it had always been. The factories were still very busy, the shops were all open for business as usual, and the trains all came in on time. There was nothing in the air to suggest that great changes were about to come, not only to this city, but to all of Equestria.

Deep in the Warehouse District, along the waterfront, was a large, shabby warehouse, abandoned by its builders long ago, and ignored by the city's citizens. Unknown to them, however, this warehouse was currently being used by a pony by the name of Tinkertoy. Extremely old, as far as ponies go, he was wrinkled and wheezy, leaving most of the ponies he met wondering how he was still kicking. But Tinkertoy had something he needed to do, and even if it took a hundred years, he was not going to die until he had made his dream come true.

As our story begins, Tinkertoy was just entering his warehouse on a bright summer morning. He walked slowly to the very back of the building, and opened a secret compartment hidden in the wall. Inside were six gems, all of different colours, their vibrant glow long since diminished by the passage of time. Tinkertoy knew their importance, however, and not a day went by where he did not check up on them to make sure they were safe. For they were the Elements of Harmony, and were crucial pieces in his plan. He must always know where they are at all times.

Just as he was closing the door to the compartment, he heard a great deal of noise come from outside. One scream, followed by several more, and the sound of running hooves as a veritable mob of ponies stampeded past his warehouse. Then Tinkertoy heard a very familiar voice call out, "Yo Tinkie! I'm HOME!!" The doors to the warehouse flew open on their own, and in zipped a very bizarre creature. He was a draconequus, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, known simply as Discord. He held a large swathe of Equestria in his clutches, including Manehatten. However, he had been gone for the past ten years, off on a mission to the fabled homeland of the alicorns.

"Discord," grumbled Tinkertoy, "You're back."

"Am I?" Discord asked. He looked at himself and gave a great fake gasp. "So I am! How wonderful! I had been worried that, in my haste, I had beaten myself here, when me, myself, and I had all wanted to give our reports together!"

"Enough," said Tinkertoy. "It's been a long time, Discord. How did your search go? Did you find the homeland of the alicorns?"

"Of course I did," Discord answered with a grin. "Just sit back and listen to what I have to say..."

* * * * *

Ten years ago...

"I've been flying for three days now," Discord grumbled to no-one in particular, "and I haven't found anything. I'm starting to think Tinkertoy sent me on a wild-goose chase. Or a wild alicorn-chase, as the case may be." It had indeed been three days since Discord had set off from Equestria to find the alicorn homeland, and having not spotted so much as a single island, he was starting to get bored.

"There! I know I've seen that fish before! I'm going in circles!" Discord began complaining loudly about Tinkertoy wasting his time when he noticed a strange phenomenon. Although he could feel himself moving forward in he air, the water, and especially the aquatic animals in the sea, seemed to be moving as though he were standing still. Discord paused, thinking. Then he slowly lowered himself to the water. He put one hand in the water and tried flying forward. His suspicion was confirmed when, even though he could feel the wind in his face, the water just stayed put.

"Well, well," mused Discord. "Why would somepony put up a magical barrier out in the middle of nowhere? As if I needed to ask." The Spirit of Chaos lifted his hand up and began feeling the air, though this time he was not feeling for anything physical, but magical. Soon, he could feel it. A slight tingling in his fingers that only a powerful being like himself would feel when in the presence of powerful magic.

"There you are, you little devil," smiled Discord. Using his own magic, he seized the barrier in his hand, and with a great tug, pulled himself through it. In an instant, the sun, which had once been high in the sky, vanished, and before him loomed a wide spread of land. It was difficult to see in the sudden darkness, but Discord could make out in the distance a large volcano, out of which shone a dark red light, providing the only illumination as far as the eye could see. Discord flew down and landed on the beach, looking around in interest.

"Well, I wouldn't have picked this colour," he said. "Dark and, more dark. How subtle." Discord took to the air again, deciding that the best course of action would be to head to the only source of light in the hopes of finding something.

The trip to the volcano did not take long. Discord never took his time when he was curious about something, and the idea of running into a brand-new race of ponies was too tempting for him to waste time lolly-gagging. However, as he drew near the active volcano, he could make out dark shapes flying through the sky around it. At first he thought they were alicorns, but on second glance he realized that these beings looked nothing like the two alicorns he had encountered in Equestria. These creatures had black and brown coloured skin. There limbs did not end in hooves, but in sharp claws. There wings were not feathered, but leathery and bat-like. Finally, their snouts were squashed into their faces, almost like a monkey's. Discord thought back to what Starswirl the Bearded had said about the Alicorn Empire.

"It's been destroyed. It's a shattered kingdom."

Discord had already seen first-hand what the alicorns were capable of. If these creatures had been able to utterly destroy them...

Discord gulped and vanished, deciding to spend the rest of his time here invisible. He could see as he approached the volcano that the creatures in the sky were flying up and into it. Discord followed, bracing himself against the heat. Once inside, he could see the volcano was immense on the inside. There was a great lake of lava bubbling at the bottom of it, and rising up out of the lava was a massive palace with many spires, some deformed from the effects of the heat. It was in and out of this castle that the creatures were flying. Discord made a beeline straight for the largest and also tallest tower, partly because he wanted to stay far away from the lava below. Inside the tower the temperature dropped, probably magically, to a more endurable level. The tower itself was bare, except for a few blood-red banners hanging on the wall, and a large throne sitting in the center of the room. Seated in that chair was another of those winged creatures, but this one was a little bit larger than the others. His hairless skin was dark brown, his wings currently curled up against his body. His face wore a look of mild boredom. His eyes were red, and his pointed ears stuck out the side of his head as though his head itself had wings. Discord remained hovering near the roof as the door to the room opened. In stepped another creature, this one midnight black. He approached the throne.

"Lord Flashfire," he said lazily, "would you like to hear the morning report?"

"No, Sentinel," the one called Flashfire replied, "unless, of course, there is something I should know about?"

"Business as usual, my lord," grinned Sentinel.

"Very well. In that event I think I will retire to the library for a while. I'm not to be disturbed, understood?"

"Yes, my lord." Sentinel turned and walked out, closing the door behind him. After a moment, Flashfire got off his throne and left as well. Discord, whose attention had been grabbed at the word library, followed close behind. Flashfire walked down a long, winding staircase until he reached the base of the tower. Then he turned right and walked under an archway leading to another section of the palace. He entered a large, rectangular building. Inside was a huge library, filled with shelves and shelves of books, as far as the eye could see. Flashfire sat down near the door and began reading from a pile of books sitting on a table. Discord, on the other hand, flew down the library hallway, staring with interest at the numerous bookshelves.

Well, Discord, he thought to himself, Tinkertoy wanted you to find out everything you could about alicorns, so it looks like you got some reading to do. After a few minutes searching, he found what he was looking for. A large, thick book with the title, 'History of the Alicorn Empire'. He looked around to make sure nopony was watching, and then sat down to read.

* * * * *

Present day...

"You expect me to believe you were reading in a library for ten years?" growled Tinkertoy.

Discord blinked. "Ten years?!" he exclaimed. "I was gone for a week, if that! What's this about ten years? Is that why you look so much more wrinkled?"

Tinkertoy scratched his chin. "A week, you say? How interesting. I can only assume from this information that time must move differently in alicorn territory. Perhaps it has something to do with the magical barrier you flew through. Well, you're immortal and I'm still alive, so I guess it is of little consequence. Now, tell me, what did you learn?"

"Have a seat," grinned Discord as he whipped a scroll out of nowhere. The scroll opened, and a long page of written-on paper rolled out the door. "I took lots and lots of notes."

Author's Note

Boy, this one took a while, but it is a fairly big chapter, as far as my chapters go!