Prologue: What Remains Untouched
Prologue: What remains untouched
It has been many moons since Discord's second defeat, having been sent back to his cold, stone imprisonment. Ponyville has returned to it’s usual and more mundane routines. Fully recovered, their spirits restored after the unfortunate events that had taken place while Discord had taken control. No one suffered mentally (though doubtless some were at least a little traumatized by some of their experiences), and no pony had been harmed, only shaken by the events of that day. A little Chocolate rain and giraffe legged bunnies didn’t really add to anypony’s comforts, most of them just wanted to stay indoors and hide, and when their houses defied the laws of gravity…? Well, not many ponies could stop silently or loudly panicking, the ones who didn’t stay indoors were pranked, and used to get to those who wouldn’t be seen outside of their flimsy, pitiful shelters and hiding places.
Yes, everyone had moved on, though a few still remembered how the Lord of Chaos held the strings of everypony, and the world as they knew it was within his clutches. Not even the princesses could stop him, and that scared some ponies. But most followed the princesses with undying loyalty and never doubted them for a second. Applejack thought about that also, but knew that if the Princesses couldn’t handle a situation then the Elements would, and the villain had only surprised them. On the other hoof were Twilight and Rainbow Dash, who had complete and undying loyalty to the two pony sisters, and thought that they surely must have been held back, he had plunged their world into utter despair and chaos after all, who's to say what transpired in Canterlot or how the populace fared there. Rarity thought little of the incident, concluding that the elements had ended the threat swiftly and efficiently, just as they had before, and that they were the only things to stop them, one thing Twilight could agree with her on, as Princess Celestia had said so herself. Pinkie Pie could think of only one thing….. Partying! She had thrown the most ginormous “Victory over the powers of Chaos” party the lands of Equestria has ever known, though it is certainly not the last party of its nature she would throw.
There was one pony however, that doubted the royals’ ability to defend and protect their subjects, given to fear and constant worry, the timid mare Fluttershy was the exception. The yellow pegasus could hardly bring herself to leave her cottage for the longest time. She was afraid of what his magic had turned her into, not so much when she was discorded and grey, but afterwards, the anger he had splintered her heart with, for she did indeed despise the chaotic being. This new found emotion did not sit well with her, and she worried that it would consume her, that she would unleash it on her friends, she had never acted out in that way, the only time she had was because of Discord, and though she had been under the influence of his magic, she had no reason to be that way afterward. It worried her, what if she still contained some sliver of chaos within her. How would one go about removing such a thing? What did that mean if she did? Would he return? Was he still out there? Everything else and everypony else appeared to be back to normal, so why wasn’t she?
Fluttershy just couldn’t make any sense of it. Why can't I stop thinking about him? And how- how was he able to defeat the only two alicorns that are responsible for protecting us all? Am I the only one losing sleep over this? Fluttershy thinks despairingly, cowering beneath her sheets. overcome with an inescapable chill, though it was a beautifully sunny day from what she saw out her small window.
The world fell apart not too long ago, and yet, no one seemed to care. The laws of nature were bended by one creature, one monster! What if there’s worse out there? And aren’t the Princesses alicorn magic more powerful than any power we could draw forth, making the power of the elements weaker due to the reserves we posses? What if…. what if the seal we placed on him doesn’t even last the hundred years that it did for Celestia and Luna? How long do we have if that’s the case, is it possible we may encounter him again at the end of our lifetimes? What plans does he have in store for next time? It’s obvious that he drew upon the chaos surrounding him to break free, but just how long would it take for him to store enough to chip away at his stone exterior a second time? Loudest of all was her fear that she would see him again, the moment he discorded her would be forever imprinted within her memory, and she would do anything to ensure this did not transpire again.
The tentative pony rose from her cowering stance and decided she’d had enough of her fears, she took it upon herself to write a letter to the Princess. Both of them actually, they both needed to hear what she had to say and, quite frankly, she wanted the matter seen to as soon as possible.
It took a lot to motivate Fluttershy to stand up for herself or her ideals, but when it came to her friends she would do anything, and aside form that, she was concerned for the future, the unknown already frightened her, but when there was a possible threat that could come to pass, she couldn’t just sit idly by!
She had to go see Twilight. She would have some idea of what they should do, and she could to it that they were sent straight to their assigned addresses. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Twilight, but she would feel safer and sleep easier when she saw the letters being sent. According to Twilight, princess Celestia took swift action when it came to her student’s letters, perhaps she could get an answer to her fears and finally put them to rest.
The only problem was that, well, she had to leave her cottage in order to reach the library, and it was a long way to travel.
It was a matter of strict urgency that made her leave her cottage that day, and nothing would stop her from doing what had to be done. Even if it meant leaving the safety of her home.