"... I have no recollection of this place... "

Night has fallen over Ponyville. The moon was bright, the stars were faint, and the wind breezed across the grassy knolls that ranged across the outskirts of the tiny, peacefully sleeping hamlet.

Well, sleeping in any case. Ponyville has forgotten what 'peaceful' actually is.

Atop the tallest hill, an intense shade of purple and black expanded and dissipated as quickly as it appeared.  Leaving behind a Unicorn stallion blinking in confusion on the slightly damp grass. A grimy pair of black spectacles dangled askew from a thin, red-furred snout while a brown scarred and battered leather trench coat was draped across a body that was a size far too small for the garment and rustled as the unicorn walked forward. At the same time, an expression of confusion crept across his face as he tilted his head into the air and sniffed once.

"Discord...? "

The unicorn snorted once as the name passed from his lips. He then pawed the ground with a burnt-black hoof, and in another burst of dark violet, disappeared once again.

***

Ponyville has forgotten what 'peaceful' meant. Over the years, the tiny town has witnessed what could be considered world-shaking events every other day, with the usual monster attack on weekends. From exiled divinities and invading armies to the god of chaos stopping by for informal, Tuesday teas. The residents of ponyville have seen things. Now ponies by their nature are easily startled creatures,  for that's what ponies are. But when the resident baker breaks the laws of physics on a semi-regular basis, one gets jaded very quickly. So when a bellow that cracked the earth's surface rolled through the delicate, slumbering cottages and poor dirt roads, half of the residents flipped their pillows over and went straight back to sleep. The other half got up to lock their windows, shake half-awake hooves in an attempt to voice their objections. Then went back to sleep.

Only one pony was worried enough to venture from the safety of her home, by way of a well-used teleportation spell, to investigate the source of the commotion. Because somepony had to, and she was already up. Sleep was for the uneducated after all.

Even after all these years, Princess Twilight Sparkle could never forget her time as librarian of the old, Golden Oaks Library. Before the little Incident, that resulted in the ancient structure's destruction; It was through the pages stacked within the hollowed out oak tree that Twilight first found the elements of harmony, and thus discovered the magic, literally and figuratively, of friendship. It was in this tree that plans came alive, lessons were learned, and her craziest weekend long study sessions had been held, and while her study sessions were still as mad as ever, it just wasn't the same in her new palace. And even after salvaging, then incorporating, parts from the tree. Twilight was still compelled to make time, only to relieve the memories.

But tonight, instead of memories. The purple-maned, winged, unicorn mare found herself facing a unicorn stallion with red fur and an overlarge, brown trench coat with the tails and hem smoldering around the Unicorn's hooves as the cloth danced in the wake of a miniature typhoon. Twilight grimaced as the wind forced her backward, strengthening to the point that she had to raise a globe of shimmering purple energy around her, to keep herself from being swept away by the reckless force currently being hurled around by that singular Unicorn.

Infusing her voice with magic, Twilight took a long breath, and spoke.

"Excuse me!"

With a last, defiant howl. The wind disappeared as if wiped out of the sky by a mighty hand. However Twilight still kept her shields hot and her guard cool as she faced down the strangely powerful newcomer to Ponyville. She was not much of a fighter that was true, but experience had beaten hard lessons into her over the years. And furthermore, there was something weird about the Unicorn's magic, familiar in its sensation.

"Discord?"

"That's the second time I have heard that name used tonight." The Unicorn said as he turned to face Twilight. "And that's one time too many to be a happy coincidence. What do you know about the god of chaos?"

"Far too much to my liking I must admit," Twilight replied before spreading her hooves apart into a defensive stance. Her full, purple eyes turned a harsh, glaring white as she spread her wings wide.

"And nothing that I'm telling somepony as rude as you."

The unicorn peered at Twilight over battered, black glasses. Black eyes turned void-dark in contrast to his opponent's own, before crinkling in amusement.

"That would be ... Unwise."

And then Twilight's magic disappeared.

No incantation, no fanfare, not even a snapping of the fingers. With one flippant word, the unicorn had wiped Twilight's wings and horn, symbols of her magical nature, out of existence. Leaving behind a thoroughly confused and naked, purple furred mare looking first confused, and then horrified as the unicorn stallion, wrapped up in a tattered, brown trench coat, closed the distance between them before saying.

"Your magic is great, but the biggest fish in a pond is nothing compared to the smallest shark in the sea. Your power, mighty as it is, is still Equine to its core. But I have plumbed the secrets of a hundred galaxies and mastered the magics of a thousand more. I have borne the weight of heroes upon my back and vanquished horrors you couldn't begin to comprehend. I am Trottr, Ponyville's first librarian, and horrors I will visit upon you unless you answer and answer true."

Entirely defenseless, Twilight shrunk back as the unicorn leaned forward, and in that polite, even tone that had colored his words asked.

"What do you know about Discord? And what happened to my library?"

***

In the books, Twilight reads in her free time (Boring, as her assistant, would say),  the phenomenon of 'fear' described by the authors in extensive detail, spoke of a sharp and sour sensation that would first arise from the pits of one's belly. Followed by a cold sweat as the gravity of current events began to take hold. Finally, a panic would wrap piercing, cold fingers around the fear-battered mind, driving it's hapless victim onto a frenzied path of mental, and lastly physical, destruction.

For nigh on a decade, Twilight Sparkle never really understood that.  Who knew being eye-balled by a  temperamental unicorn, with power approaching godhood, would accomplish in ten seconds what ten years failed to do.

"Huh. Scared you a bit there did I?"

Tossing his head, Trottr's dull-black mane ruffled as a light breeze blew, and Twilight's magic returned.

"Sorry about that. I find that a first impression is best when there's a little 'shock value.' involved. No hard feelings eh?"

Twilight's left eye twitched. Once.

"You ... STOLE ... my magic. To make an IMPRESSION?"

Now to a mountain, the wind is naught but air that moves. Beating childishly upon the aged monolith in all its impotent fury, but sometimes, something gets through and the mountain, in its surprise, listens.

And here, Trotter attended as the smaller, purple-furred and violet-maned pony exploded into a furious tirade. Twilight herself had no idea what she was saying. Barbs and insults, shears and scourges. A vocabulary as extensive as the constellations in the night sky, utilized to its fullest extent to express the outrage that welled up from her breast as her wings beat out her rage, in time with every word that fell from her lips.

At last, Twilight's outrage burnt itself out. And she was left breathless, drained and staring at Trottr's bemused expression through a battered pair of spectacles perched across his snout. There was a long moment of silence before Trottr bowed his head and said.

"You're right."

"Hah?" Twilight asked.

"What you said just now. You were right." Trottr clarified, "I came to your town in the middle of the night, disturbed the peace and violated your person. There isn't anything to say to justify what I had done. All I can do is apologize."

Twilight opened her mouth as she tried to remember what she had said.

Closed it.

"That's alright Trotter. Perhaps ... We had gotten off on the wrong hoof."

"Then allow me to reintroduce myself, and make amends. I am Trottr the ever-walking. First Librarian of Ponyville, and finally home after an unplanned, extended absence."

Twilight Sparkle huffed, flapped her wings once and bowed in return.

"And I am Princess Twilight Sparkle. Bearer of the Elements of Harmony. Librarian and Princess of Ponyville."

"Woah. Were you a bearer of the Elements of Harmony? So Nightmare Moon was real then?"

"Yes Trotter, Nightmare Moon exists. And that isn't even the weirdest thing that has happened around here."

Trotter merely stared at Twilight, before his snout broke slowly into a broad grin in response to Twilight's own, puzzled expression.

"So both the Elements of Harmony and Nightmare Moon existed? Called it."

***

Across the breadth of the stars, and over the span of galaxies, in a dark corner of the expanse that was space. A lone pegasus slumbered in the embrace of dusk - brown wings. Softly snorting, he grumbled and shifted from his left flank to his right, revealing fur the same color as his wings all along his impressively lean, dangerous length. A spot of black quivered as the pegasus's snout flared in time with his breath while a black stripe across his eyes twitched as his dreams took a left turn into a repressed boulevard.

Disjointed images began flashing through his mind. Where ponies were running and screaming as arrows rained from the sky. Followed by stallions in armor and tight formation being swept aside by swathes of bright, yellow light.

Off in the distance giant, glowing yellow morning-stars reaped buildings and homes with each, devastating, side-long swipe.

A crown hit the ground ringing as its gray-bearded bearer fell. Impaled through the breast with a single spear.

A unicorn mare and a pegasus colt screamed as a stark, golden glare wiped them out of sight.

And throughout the images, voices clamored over the chaos. Building into an overwhelming crescendo, as a single word made itself heard above the rest.

Equestria.

EQUESTRIA.

EQUESTRIA!!!

Doomed ...

Black-striped eyes snapped open as a yellow glow spread from the Pegasus's hoof, and seared the shadow that was now threatening to swallow him whole.

"In Blackest day, in Brightest night ..."

The shadow screamed in defiance, fighting for purchase around the pegasus's frame as the light intensified.

"Forth I gallop to set things right! Let those who believe in justice's lie!"

Until at last, overwhelmed, the shadow fled. Burned ...

" ... in the gaze of Tenor Bane's light!"

Once there slumbered a dusk-brown Pegasus pony, now Tenor Bane had become a bright meteor, unleashing a tail of brilliant yellow in his wake as he soared across the next star system. Towards Equestria. Towards a home, he had sworn never to return.

Looking on at Tenor Bane's flight, the shadow, herald of the Nightmare Forces, was pleased.

***