The Dragon Lands.

Not surprisingly, as the name implied, this was the land of the dragons. The largest, and most threatening creatures to exist in this world. Once a proud and rather tyrannical race, they were slowly becoming less of that thanks to a change of leadership. That being in the form of their new Queen, known simply by ponykind as Ember.

Now Ember wasn't a very tall dragon; rather, she was quite small or runty compared to most others, but she was just as tough as any other dragon. She was hot tempered, a bit stubborn, and quite prideful, but she was also supportive and helpful to a selected few whom she counted as friends. Among them being a certain baby dragon back in Equestria living among the pony race.

With his help, Ember was able to obtain the Bloodstone Scepter that made her Queen of the Dragons in the first place, and with it she was able to rule the dragons in a manner that was peaceful compared to before. Yet even with her claim to the throne in her hands, the process was still a long and slow one of keeping the other dragons from attacking other races in their greed and lust for treasure. But if anyone could keep them in line, it was her.

On this particular day, Ember was relaxing on a rock and looking up at the sky, while other dragons started to play in pools of lava in what was once probably a volcano, mildly active enough to have exposed magma. They would dive from great heights into the pools below, or play some odd game similar to volleyball with some poor critter (probably a hedgehog), or just lounge about like Ember was doing. But in general, they were simply trying to enjoy themselves, and from a distance it almost looked alike to any kind of teenage party.

As this was going down, the light of the sun above them suddenly started to dim, despite being close to midday at least. Naturally, this caused Ember and what dragons had been lounging around to pause and get to their feet while looking skywards in confusion. Some of the others didn't notice at first due to being in close proximity to the lava pools, but they did notice the next thing to occur: a bright red light shining down upon them, so red that it made just about everything else seem red itself. And said light was gradually getting brighter and brighter.

The source of the light was soon seem afterwards, in the form of a ball of fire flying down towards them at great speed. Dragons or no dragons, no one in their right mind would allow something moving at terminal velocity to hit them, especially of large enough size to seem like a basketball to those among them who could be seen as literal teenaged dragons. Wisely, they all scattered as whatever it was crashed into the ground and created a fairly large crater, as well as a great amount of dust.

As the dragons all gathered themselves up again and started to chance an investigation of the object which had crashed, the dust suddenly dispersed as if a gust of wind had blown it away, though there was no wind. But what was there was the thing that had landed, standing in the center of the crater it had created.

Though what it was, none of the dragons could guess. It seemed to be made completely of shadows and red flames, and constantly changed its general form or shape. The only distinguishing features that could be made out was a pair of glowing yellow eyes, and two arms that disappeared as it folded them behind its back. The eyes seemed to be ones that held a kind of dark look to them, and it regarded them all with a semi-neutral expression. Then a pure white smile materialized below the eyes, and a voice spoke from it.

"Where is your Queen, Ember? I wish to speak with her."

As if to answer his question, Ember herself flew down to face the newcomer with a cold glare.

"How dare you set foot on our lands! Who are you?" she demanded, sensing that this figure couldn't be up to anything good. The grin on the shadow creature grew wider.

"One who wishes to learn more about this world," he answered her, voice unsettling, yet calm and malicious.

"Well whatever it is you're looking for, it's not here! So shove off!" Ember ordered.

The shadow figure's smile disappeared. "Fine. Be that way. I was actually trying to be nice for once, but already I'm feeling unwelcome." His eyes gave a deep glare. "So if I can't get what I want willingly, I'll simply-"

*BAM!*

Credit where it was due, at least Ember was smart enough to not allow the figure to finish speaking. The creature, or whatever it was, went flying from a strong punch to the face, and into a rock that shattered upon contact while also stopping his flight. It groaned in pain and stood to his feet, then the smile materialized on its face again while the eyes gave a smirk, making it look very creepy.

"A fine blow, but it'll take more than that if you wish to stop me," he said, antagonizing Ember to charge at him again. But at the last second, the figure simply sidestepped out of the way, grabbed her tail as she passed, and with a few spins he tossed her into another heap of rocks, giving a slight wince when they shattered as she went through them. But the dragon was up in another instant, her fury becoming more evident to see as she released a burst of her purple fire upon the figure. However, the thing that plagued her life simply stood still as the flames engulfed it, and didn't appear to be harmed in the slightest, which made Ember stop in surprise.

"Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Bad move," the thing taunted with a bigger grin. "Using fire on me? Never works out for anyone."

Then before she could retaliate, the figure's arm had stretched out farther than one would think was possible, and grabbed her by the neck with surprising strength, then chucked her back into another boulder and rushed after her for a quick followup. The other dragons watched in a mixture of awe and concern, not sure whether to help their queen or let her prove her strength to them against such a foe. That being said, they seemed content enough to simply watch the fight pan out for the time being.

It was quite a spectacle, really. The two foes flying about here, there, and everywhere across the volcano; whether by moving of their own accord, or by getting thrown about by the other. Boulders were smashed, craters were formed, and boulders were smashed. If the other dragons could have gotten their hands on some popcorn, they probably would have been munching on it throughout the spectacle.

But eventually, after being thrown into a boulder for the umpteenth time, Ember finally seemed to snap.

"I've had enough of this stupid game!" she roared, soaring at the figure with the intention of finishing him off. But the creepy smile returned then, and a gleam appeared in his eyes.

"I agree. This has gone on long enough," he stated, and raised his hand in manner that almost seemed to be like he was trying to grip her throat from a distance. And as he did, Ember suddenly clutched her throat and her eyes widened in utter shock, and she stopped abruptly in midair as if she had hit a wall. This startled the other dragons as much as it did their leader, but in their surprise they didn't attempt yet to do anything about it.

Which the cloaked figure took full advantage of, advancing upon Ember until he was within touching distance. Then he placed his hand upon her head, and it gave a bright glow. Ember stopped choking and now started screaming (something not seen by her among other dragons) as she felt something push into her mind and start afflicting her from within. The other dragons by now had actually gotten some common sense, and dropping their whole "strength test" thing, they started to rush at the figure attacking their queen. But before they could reach him, he disappeared like a puff of smoke and Ember fell to the ground presumably unconscious. Reappearing a distance away, the figure scoffed at them.

"I've seen stronger dragons than you before," he spat, then his smile returned again. "But it doesn't matter now. I got what I wanted to know. Thanks for the help, Queen Ember."

And with a cackle of laughter and a burst of flames, the figure disappeared from sight completely. As soon as he did, the light of the midday sun returned to normal, and the dragons were left with an unconscious Queen and utter bewilderment.

"He- he defeated Ember... He actually beat her..."

Ponyville.

A quiet and generally peaceful town. Home to an accepting society (or so they claimed) of ponies, and consisting of residents from every pony race. Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi all resided in this town, and all were welcome. The town also had the privilege of being home to the Castle of Friendship, which was in turn the home to one of seven of the town's residents: the Mane Seven.

The world-renowned heroes of Equestria. Long had they kept the world safe from all manner of harm and evil, by use of the magic of Friendship. While a noble cause to fight for, one could say that they idolized it almost as much as they did their monarchs; so often was it spoken about and revered, as if it were a religion. [Sounds somewhat accurate]. And the Mane Seven were ever eager to teach the world about this magic, and were always learning something new about friendship themselves.

But on this particular day, in a cottage on the outskirts of the mysterious Everfree Forest, which served as home to one of the Mane Seven, there wasn't any particular teaching about Friendship occurring... at least not actively. What was occurring was a little tea party between the adorably shy, and rather pretty Element of Kindness, Fluttershy, and the monstrously deformed, yet likable and humorous Spirit of Chaos, Discord.

Such a pair seemed very unlikely to behold. The pegasus, who's gentle soul and fear of nearly everything kept her in a very orderly lifestyle, hanging out with a creature who was typically a loose cannon, carefree and fearing next to nothing. Two complete opposites who were the best of friends, and yet that wasn't the only metaphor one could pin on them.

Fluttershy, while she probably wouldn't believe it or admit it, was a natural beauty to behold, and any pony of either sex with half a brain and one eye could see that plain as day. The only reason any stallion would have to not try asking her out would be because of her shyness alone, which made her reluctant to even talk to most ponies... And then, there was the draconequus she was friends with, who may as well have been constantly watching her like a hawk with how protective he was of her, and who would literally crucify anyone for doing so much as look at her funny.

As for Discord himself, to say he was hideous was an understatement. The mismatched body parts fitting together in a rather grotesque fashion, and looking out of place even so, with a frightening complexion to match made his face one that only a mother could love. The fact that he was the Spirit of Chaos, who had attempted twice (maybe thrice) in ruling Equestria, didn't help his already-shunned appearance. Only Fluttershy could be seen as a true friend of his, and who took the time to actually go out of her way to spend time with him.

Tea parties were one of their favorite pastimes with each other. Moments when they could just kick back, relax, and talk to each other over some delicious cucumber sandwiches, and steaming beverages sweetened with sugar. Ironically, for Discord at least, it was such times like this which were devoid of nearly any chaos that he enjoyed the most, especially with such a great friend like Fluttershy.

"More tea, Discord?" Fluttershy asked the draconequus, her shy and quiet voice always sounding like sweet music to his ears.

"Why, thank you Fluttershy," he said politely, giving his teacup a pair of wings to fly over to her kettle as she poured the tea into the cup. Once she had filled it up, it flew back to him and he took a sip from it. "You always have the best tea, Fluttershy," he complimented.

"Oh, it's nothing really," she said modestly. "I just picked up what I could find at the market."

"Well, you certainly have great taste in what you buy," he complimented, giving a dramatic expression of content. "This tea is to die for!"

"Oh, I don't think it's that good," Fluttershy said quietly. Discord didn't bother to correct her or comment in response, and simply did something rather odd: he poured the rest of the tea down his ear, shuddering in some kind of pleasure as it trickled inside. Normally a bit disgusting and weird for any other pony to see, but for Fluttershy this was practically normal to see from Discord, and she wouldn't expect anything less from him.

"Cucumber sandwich?" She offered him, holding out a plate of the said delicacies before him.

"Mm! Don't mind if I do," he said politely, and accepted one of them, taking a bite of it and then impaling the rest on one of his mismatched horns. "I'm saving that one for later," he explained to Fluttershy, to which the pegasus giggled humorously.

"Oh, Discord! What am I going to do with you?" she asked in playful bemusement.

"Well, you could try-"

But sadly, you guys reading this will never know what Discord was about to say. Because while he was still speaking, his entire body suddenly shuddered violently and involuntarily for a few seconds, before stopping as abruptly as it had started. Which, to anyone who knew Discord other than the draconequus himself, meant that he had just sensed some kind of magical disturbance.

"Discord?" Fluttershy asked, now looking rather concerned by what she had seen.

"Oh... That can't be good," he muttered, and he sounded a little scared.

"What? What's not good?" Fluttershy demanded, trying to get an answer out of him. "Discord, what is going on?"

"I... I- oh, would you look at the time!" Discord exclaimed suddenly, as a broken watch with squiggly hands and upside down numbers appeared on his wrist. "I'd best be on my way! I'm going to be late for-"

He was cut off mid-sentence when he saw Fluttershy giving him what could only he described as a very assertive expression, and one which was rather intimidating to see on Fluttershy at that.

"Discord," she said in a firm, yet calm tone. "Tell me what's wrong, right now."

The draconequus sighed. As much as he liked Fluttershy, sometimes it was hard for him to keep any details from her.

"Fine... Equestria may be in grave danger," he explained bluntly. "Someone or something far greater than any threat you and your friends have ever faced before has come to destroy us all. You and the girls need to Friendship up, and get ready for a fight."

. . .

Well, that was one way to do it. And it certainly did the trick. The tea party setup was all but disregarded, and Fluttershy bolted up from her seat in a flash.

"I'd better warn Twilight and the girls now!" she exclaimed. "Discord, send me-"

The pegasus was still in the middle of speaking when they both disappeared in a flash of light, courtesy of the draconequus who had snapped his fingers moments before. Leaving an empty cottage and a pot of warm tea, along with several unfinished sandwiches-

Another flash occurred, and Discord reappeared by himself, snatched up the remaining sandwiches, and then disappeared once again.

Now leaving an empty cottage and a pot of warm tea.

Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship.

If anyone ever bothered to try and get to know her, one would hardly believe she was a Princess at all. She was still quite naive on several topics, a bit awkward, didn't try to act formal about her position more often than not (which was a rather humble quality, perhaps), and even could be easily stressed out or boggled with things she understood nothing about.

She was also maybe a little too loyal to Princess Celestia, despite whatever clear incompetence she may show. Though to be fair, Celestia was her personal mentor throughout her years as a filly, but that's all irrelevant.

On this particular day, Twilight was doing the one thing that was common to see with her while in her castle, or anywhere really: making a list of things to do and having Spike write them all down, as well as check them off if the items were already taken care of.

"Mane brushed and cleaned."

"Check!"

"Teeth brushed."

"Check!"

"Wear clothes."

"...Twilight, you don't wear clothes."

"Oh, right! Scratch that! Okay, now Spike, I need you to make sure that the Cutie Mark Crusaders return their books on time while I'm gone. Don't let Pinkie Pie get into the kitchen, and tell Starlight to write another Friendship entry before I return..."

"Twilight," Spike's face and tone displayed clear amusement to her behavior. "You still haven't found that speech you wrote, have you?"

"NO!" Twilight shrieked, eyes going wide with anxiety and a little panic. "And I'm supposed to show up in less than three hours! I don't even remember what to say! What if I mess it all up? What if everypony laughs at me? That's not a good sign for a Princess! Maybe I shouldn't go... But then I'll be disappointing Celestia-"

"Twilight! Snap out of it!" Spike shouted loudly to catch her attention, and once he had achieved this, he spoke in a lighter tone. "You'll do just fine. You're one of the smartest ponies I know. If anyone can pull this off, it's you. Speech or no speech."

Twilight took a few breaths as she listened to what Spike said, and it seemed to have a calming effect on her. Slowly, she allowed herself to breathe, and then gave Spike a thankful smile.

"Thanks, Spike. What would I ever do without you?" she asked.

"Remain as Princess Celestia's personal student, with your nose buried into your books?" he suggested, to which Twilight made a deadpan expression, even though she knew it was true; she always had been more of a book reader than a pony person (assuming that's the correct way to say that). Despite having her friends now, she still would often enjoy the comfort of a good book in her private time, to the point of reading every book in her castle's library at least 100 times (I wish I was exaggerating that, especially considering how many books that library has).

But before she could say anything in protest or otherwise, there was a flash of light in the room, and when it cleared they could see Fluttershy and Discord standing before them, both looking quite concerned (or in Fluttershy's case, scared).

"Fluttershy? Discord? What are you doing here?" Twilight inquired in confusion.

"To warn you," Fluttershy said in a hurry. "Discord, tell them!"

Discord looked at Twilight and made a sigh. As much as they didn't like each other on multiple concepts, Discord wouldn't hesitate to take a fall for Twilight if necessary, and he certainly wouldn't withhold any information about their possible, impending doom.

"Twilight, I just sensed something that I haven't felt in all the millenias of my life," he said, his voice serious without any hint of joking or casualness, which was quite a surprise from Discord and made Twilight pay all the more attention to him. "A terrible darkness has landed in Equestria. A darkness belonging to someone who does not belong in this world. Whatever he is, he's far more powerful than anything you've faced before. If he's not stopped... There may not be an Equestria anymore."

The silence that fell upon them was so thick, even the near noiseless sound of Twilight's checklist falling to the floor was heard clearly by all in the room.

"...Spike, write a letter to Celestia and warn her immediately!" Twilight ordered. "Discord, Fluttershy, get the rest of the girls! Meet me in Canterlot when you're done!"

"On it!" all three of them said at once, then all parties departed in their own fashions.

One could only hope they weren't too late.

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere

In a cave on the outskirts of Equestria, within the darkness of a cave, someone was chanting in a dark language. The shadows literally being pulled towards the voice as it spoke, the language in which it spoke unfamiliar and sounding quite evil.

While this chanting occurred, an Ursa Major (yes, the BIG one) suddenly stood in front of the cave entrance, giving a growl of hostility at the intruder for trespassing on its territory. However, in response, an unholy, chilling screech of some monstrous, dark creature was heard in answer. Angered that this beast would even DARE to challenge it. And like a puppy who had done wrong, the Ursa Major turned tail immediately and fled for its life.

Leaving the shadow within to continue its ritual uninterrupted.

I'm aware Discord is nowhere close to looking that hideous in the show, but ya know... this isn't exactly given a kid rating. And I'd like to think that the show simply makes everything look better than it'd really look like, for the kids sake. But that hideousness of Discord only makes the relationship of Fluttercord all the more beautiful to me.

So there's the first chapter for y'all. Stay tuned for more in the future. I'M BACK, BABY! AHAHAHA!

too far? XD