//------------------------------// // Prologue: Equestria // Story: Sword and Sorcery // by CCC //------------------------------// “Oatmeal biscuits?” asked Twilight, reading from a checklist. “Check!” said Spike, dropping a packet into the saddlebag. “Super Naturals?” Despite the unfortunate name, Twilight had to admit that the book contained a lot of useful herbal cures for dealing with a variety of afflictions. “Check!” said Spike, placing it in the opposite saddlebag. “Quill and parchment, in case of emergency letters to Princess Celestia?” “Check!” These went with the oatmeal biscuits. “Bandages?” “Check!” “Sealed bottle of ink?” “Check!” “Did you double-check the seal? Remember what happened last month.” Spike rolled his eyes, but took out the ink bottle and double-checked it. “Check!” “The Great Book of Emergency Failsafe Spells?” “Check!” “Right! We're almost done. Element of Magic...” Twilight raised a hoof, and touched the tiara on her head. “Check.” she answered herself. One item to pack left on the checklist. “Element of Kindness?” she called out. There was a long pause. “Element of Kindness?” she asked again. “Do I have to wear it?” asked Spike. “Yes, Spike.” Twilight said firmly. “You have to wear it. Now put it on, please.” Spike sighed. “It's just...” “You know the reasons, Spike.” said Twilight, firmly. “Well, yeah, but... why doesn't Fluttershy wear it? I mean, it's her element, right?” “Because she refuses to. Now, you remember what to do?” Spike sighed. “I sit next to Fluttershy. If anything happens, I take off the Element and give it to her.” “Right. And remember, all of Equestria might depend on you handing that Element over very promptly.” “I still don't see why all this is necessary.” grumbled Spike, under his breath. “Because, Spike, if Discord return to his former evil ways, then we will need the Elements to turn him back to stone.” Twilight lifted the packed saddlebags to her back, being careful not to entangle her new wings in the strap and marched out the door. She waited a moment for Spike, then trotted along the road with him. “I thought he'd been all reformed now.” “Not entirely.” said Twilight. “Discord is using his magic mostly for good at the moment, yes. But that's not because of some sudden inner nobleness of spirit. It is simply because he has only one friend in the world – Fluttershy – and he doesn't want to disappoint her. In order to keep him using his magic for good, he needs to regularly spend some time interacting with Fluttershy; they both need to keep that friendship alive. Hence, once a week, at a time and place of Discord's choosing, we all meet for a meal.” “So why do all the Elements need to be there?” asked Spike. “In case Discord suddenly decides that Fluttershy's friendship is no longer important enough to keep him on good.” says Twilight. “Fluttershy promised not to use her Element on him, but if things get really serious, we'll want to have the option of turning him back to stone again. I don't imagine we'll need it today, but it's better to have it and not need it that need it and not have it.” Twilight paused a moment, and then added “Also, I'm beginning to suspect that Discord may be trying to make friends with the rest of us as well.” “Ah, Twilight, Spike.” Twilight came to an abrupt halt at the dragonequus' unexpected voice. She glanced around – how had she possibly made it all the way to Fluttershy's house so quickly? “I do hope you don't mind, I took the liberty of temporarily removing most of the distance from the library to here. Don't worry, I've put it back already. It seems that you're the last of our little group to arrive.” “Hey, Twilight.” said Fluttershy, softly. “For today's lunch, I thought we'd go a little further afield than normal.” said Discord, smiling. “Further afield?” asked Applejack, skeptically. “Last week you had is in Horsetralia. Where do you get that's further afield than that?” “But that wasn't in a field.” protested Pinkie Pie. “That was in a desert.” “We're not going to have a picnic atop a Manehatten skyscraper again, are we?” asked Rarity, nervously. “The high-altitude wind was absolutely terrible for my mane.” “Yeah, but it was an awesome place to watch stunt flying from.” countered Dash, grinning widely. “I thought the picnic inside the volcano was the best one.” volunteered Spike. All six ponies shuddered at that memory; Discord's chaos magic may have made them entirely fireproof for the duration of that meal, but picnicing on lava had still been a nervous business. “Nothing like that, nothing like that at all.” said Discord calmly. “Just a quiet little clearing, near a river. Little birds singing. Squirrels in the trees. That sort of thing.” He snapped his fingers, and a large stone archway appeared next to Fluttershy's cottage. A strange mist filled the portal, effectively blocking any view through it. With a sweeping bow, Discord gestured towards the stone arch. “After you, ladies.” “An' just where is this clearing?” asked Applejack. “Oh...” Discord's grin widened “...just a little bit outside the city of Cimmura.” “Never heard of it.” said Applejack. “Twi?” “Um. I'm afraid I didn't bring the atlas with me...” Fluttershy trotted past the others and walked straight through the archway, vanishing instantly into the mists beyond. “C'mon, Spike.” said Twilight, following on behind with some trepidation. Rainbow Dash and Applejack shared a glance, and then stepped through side by side, followed be Rarity. “Ooooh! Wait for me!” called Pinkie, bringing up the rear. Discord allowed himself one, private, extra-large smile before stepping through the portal himself.