The Beginning of a Dark Age
"Twilight? Twilight, wake up." A voice echoed into Twilight Sparkle's dream, and she snapped awake. Her body was pressed against a grey stallion, who was looking at her worriedly with yellow and red eyes. She groaned, massaging her head, and glanced up at the bright blue sky. The heat was even more unbearable, now that they were in the heart of the Day Region. A few miles away, Twilight could see the town she had been looking for, a tall, crystalline palace stretching up high into the light blue sky.
"Just a few more miles. Discord, I'm fine, really." Twilight rasped, before she started coughing. She fell to the ground, purple feathers fluttering into the air. She lay still for a few minutes, to tired to cough any more. Her body began to tremble, the silent coughing getting worse. Discord poofed a glass of water in, and held it to Twilight's mouth, gently pouring it in, and the coughing began to subdue. Discord glanced to the side, and to Twilight, he looked like he was looking at nothing in particular. But, rather than looking at nothing, he was looking at a narrator, who can't do anything to help Discord. The narrator can only observe, so that the readers may read, and cannot change the story. Discord made a hmph sound, and turned back to the purple mare. His form began to stretch out, and with a spoing, he turned into a Draconequus. He picked up the barely breathing mare, and began to run towards the town in the distance. In a few minutes, they were in a place that was only a memory to Discord and Twilight. It had been ten long years since they had seen this place. Discord turned to face the towering palace, and sighed. Fifteen years ago, this popped up out of a ground, after the defeat of the monster, Tirek. Five years after, the Princesses, Luna and Celestia disappeared, and the Sun and the Moon divided the world into two halves, of which Equestria was in the center of; The Day Region, and the Night Region. Equestria suffered greatly, and everypony fled to the border-lands, the only area that was remotely bearable now.
Discord gazed down at the mare he had grown to care for. Twilight was slowly beginning to lose hope that she would ever see the Elder Alicorns again, and it broke his heart to see her this way. She was determined to reach the Tree of Harmony to find the Elements of Harmony, but if they didn't get home soon, Twilight would die.
Twilight was frightened. For Celestia, for Luna, for everyone she cared about. The sun and moon were frozen in place, and not even Discord could move them. Twilight tried to keep up a calm attitude for her little ponies -Celestia got her into the habit of calling them that- but her confidence was cracking, and it was showing with every movement she made, every breath she breathed. Scootaloo, Captain of the Royal Guard, and one of Twilight's three advisers had suggested that maybe the Elements could help them. Twilight had denied the request, but a small flicker of hope had already lit up inside her. A couple weeks later, Sweetie Bell, former "Pop Star", and another of Twilight's advisers prompted her to find the Elements, but was denied. Then, Apple Bloom came. Her tall, narrow frame was different from other earth ponies, and she had an unusually calm demeanor, rarely found during these hard times. Her red mane was tied up in a ponytail, and several Zebrican amulets hung around her neck. She had demanded that Twilight find the Elements, before Equestria was doomed. Twilight had been struck by how much Apple Bloom was just like Zecora, and she agreed to the former apprentice of the zebra. Discord had tried to talk her out of it, true, but Twilight was able to get him to agree, even though he insisted he had to come with.
Twilight opened her eyes, and felt cool shade on her face. She struggled to sit up, but a pounding headache forced her to lie back down.
"... Twilight?!" A familiar, but shocked voice echoed from in front of her. A blue coated mare with a rainbow mane walked up to her, wings fluttering nervously. "Are you... ARE YOU CRAZY?!?!?!?!?" The pegasus erupted suddenly, fire burning behind her magenta eyes. "WHAT ARE DOING HERE, YOU CRAZY ALICORN?!?! YOU COULD'VE DIED OUT THERE! YOU AND DISCORD WERE THIS-" She held her hooves about an inch apart. "-CLOSE TO BURNING TO A CRISP!!!!"
Twilight laughed. "Good to see you too, Rainbow." Rainbow Dash cooled down a bit, but her wings were still spread open.
"You crazy mare..." Rainbow muttered, before scooping up Twilight in a hug. "What are you even doing here? It's crazy, being out in eternal sunlight!"
Twilight tugged herself away from Rainbow, and shrugged. "I thought maybe I could get to the Elements. We need them, Rainbow. You're still at the Tree, right?"
Rainbow shook her head. "No, I'm not. I had to retreat further into the Everfree, to escape the heat. The Everfree is slowly dying, Twilight. Flutters can barely keep the animals from rioting, and Zecora is barely keeping the forest alive, with her magic mumbo-jumbo stuff." Rainbow sighed, looking to the west. "I miss Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity. How are they doing?"
Twilight looked down. "I haven't seen them lately. Everytime I try to reach them, the connection dissappears." Twilight sat down on a clump of moss. "I'm glad to see you Rainbow. Any luck finding Celestia yet?"
Rainbow shook her head. "No, not yet. I'm sorry Twi, I really am." Rainbow became fuzzy, and blew away in a sudden burst of wind.
Twilight sat up, eyes wide. "Discord, I saw Rainbow."
Discord looked startled, sitting up in the abandoned bed. "?tahw ,tiaW"
Twilight laughed. "Discord, mind your speech. Remember, only Pinkie understands your backwards talk... I guess Flutters does too."
Discord was struck by how calm and happy she looked. She seemed like the mare she was before all of this crazy sun-moon thingabob. "What I meant to say, dear- I mean, darling- I mean, Princess, is Wait, what? How'd you reach Rainbow?"
Twilight leaned back, and smiled. "Remember that long lesson I gave you on Harmony?"
"Yeah! ...No, not really."
"Well, one of the things I talked about was the connection between the Elements. We found that, even though the Elements are in the Tree now, we can contact each other through dreams. Really, it's actually a long and, quite frankly, a boring topic, so I will spare you the details."
"Huh?" Discord stared at Twilight with awe. "Since when have YOU of all ponies found a topic boring?!"
"Since I nearly died in the heat of day, and decided that living is much better than giving a lecture about the decomposition of a body when exposed to too much heat, and why the body shuts down because of overheating and dehydration."
Discord had to pick his jaw literally off the ground. This was a new development. Something he wouldn't have hesitated to try out back in the Chaotic days. Don't you think about it Discord.
But doesn't that count as interfering?
Eh... I dunno. Haven't been fried by lighting yet, so I think I'm good.
The duo made their way to a green, and a suprisingly lush forest a few yards away from the castle. However, the leaves provided not much comfort from the sun, no matter how shady it was. The only relief was found in a patch of shade, on top of some water. The water, which was still quite warm, was refreshing in the heat, and provided another source of water for Discord to poof from.
"Twilight Sparkle, no time to wait! That water is not for your thirst to sate!" A accented voice boomed from the trees, and a zebra came rushing out. Discord tossed Twilight out of the water, horrified to see leeches grasping onto Twilight's legs. With a squawk, he turned into a bird and flew out of the water, shaking the leeches from his claws.
Twilight lay gasping on the ground, her face pale from shock. She tried prying the leeches away, but only felt her magic drain.
"Twilight Sparkle, you foolish mare, why are you even here? Blood these leeches do not suck, but rather the magic that you use to try to pluck! Do not attempt magic at all my dear, for we have no access to a magical ether!"
Discord raised an eyebrow. "That last rhyme is kinda a stretch, don't you think?"
"Quiet, Chaos, I have no need for your sass."
"That one was a stretch too."
"Just shut up, or fall into the muck."
"Yeah, I think I will shut up now."
