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// Prologue: Seeking Attention 
// Story: Humility 
// by Leoshi 
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Prologue: Seeking Attention

Summer in Ponyville was a glorious time. Down any road saw ponies enjoying the day to the fullest, whether it was selling their wares, filling their stomachs, or simply playing with friends. After the trouble with Tirek, the citizens of Ponyville - and, of course, the rest of Equestria - better appreciated their innate magic. It was not explicit, but it could be seen and felt in the way ponies handled themselves.

The alicorn responsible for restoring their magic had been awarded with a newfound assurance in her title, as well as a crystalline tree-like palace. Despite how it stood out from the landscape, the residents took to it well. It was less an eyesore and more a trophy; a symbol that their home was also the home of a heroine. And there was someone standing outside the doors to that palace.

He made for an interesting sight. An amalgamation of creatures all created one unlike any seen in the world, standing outside a set of golden doors. He was clearly hesitant, and passers-by could barely make out the hint of fear that shone behind his eyes. The draconequus - the only one in existence - had been mustering up the courage to knock for the last ten minutes.

Eventually, he did. And when he finally knocked, he allowed himself exactly two seconds before letting himself into the palace of Twilight Sparkle. That, as well, was an interesting sight to behold, since the Princess of Friendship kept an open-door policy. The other Royals may keep court hours and meetings, but not her. Knocking from anypony was purely a courtesy.

The entryway was just as he remembered it: cut from stone, imbued with magic, and decorated loftily from one corner to the next. He quietly made his way up the staircase, which led him into the next hallway. A series of doors on either side met him, and he knew that the one pony he sought was behind one of them.

He cleared his throat. “Twilight?” he called. The echoes of his voice answered him.

“Twilight?” he tried again, louder this time. A moment later, one of the doors to his left opened, and a purple head with green spines poked out to look at him.

“Oh, it's Discord. Hey,” Spike greeted. 

Discord nodded and gave a wave. 

“Sorry we didn't hear you come in. Twilight’s been going through the new library recently, and she tends to get addle-brained from the work.”

“I had a feeling she would be busy, but..." Discord hesitated. He looked over Spike into the library (an easy task, really). "Something's come up, and if I could possibly borrow her for a moment, I would feel so much better.”

The dragon gave a quizzical look. “This isn’t some prank that Rainbow Dash put you up to, is it? I know she wants to get me back for putting hot sauce in her smoothie last week.”

“Oh, that was you!” Discord laughed. “Classic. Well, no, this isn’t any prank. It’s actually kind of serious.”

Spike waited a moment, just looking at the towering creature, before he shrugged and walked back through the open door. Discord followed at a small distance, taking one step for every three of Spike’s.

The dragon had not been lying. Twilight’s new library, though certainly impressive, was in a state of disarray. Books, carts of books, and a line of carts for books were all scattered around the wing - some clearly in use, others ignored for a day or more. The shelves along the wall were slowly being filled, most of them held in place by Twilight’s distinctive purple aura of magic. Twilight herself was standing in the middle of the chaos, looking from one shelf to the next before pulling out a book from one of the many piles. She would read the spine, give a nod or a shake, then - depending on her judgment - either place the book on a spot along the wall, or drop it where it was and begin an entirely new pile.

“Good luck getting her attention. My record today has been four minutes, and that was for lunch,” Spike warned before padding toward the library’s second floor. Discord waved at him, then gingerly made his way through the warzone.

A moment later, he stood behind the alicorn. “Twilight?” he called.

Just like Spike had warned, Twilight’s focus was totally centered on her work, and thus she didn’t register her name being called. He tried two more times - “Twilight Sparkle?”, “Princess Pony-Pal?” - before deciding to try another approach. Clearly she was more interested in her books, so he needed to draw her attention with one.

When she began to float one book toward her, he merely reached out and grabbed it. With it stopped, Twilight finally broke out of her zone with a confused grunt. She looked over her withers, finally seeing her guest.

"Afternoon."

“Gah!” she screamed, dispelling all of her magic at once. Several clunks sounded throughout the library, including some from the second-floor study followed by a groan from Spike. Twilight, shaking her head to clear her confusion, finally looked at Discord properly.

“Sorry,” he began. “But I wasn’t sure how else to get your attention.”

She gave a hearty sigh. “Why does everypony resort to surprising me?” she muttered. “Don’t they know I have a name?”

Discord raised a lion-finger to make a point, but decided against it. That sort of thing could wait. The reason he came here could not. “Yes, well, listen. Could I borrow you for a moment? I have something of a problem, and...well, it’s rather new to me.”

Twilight gave him a suspicious look, then turned to consider the state of her library. “I guess I could, at least for a few minutes. What’s going on?”

‘Finally,’ he thought. With a nervous gulp, Discord looked toward the messy floor. “You remember how...Tirek betrayed me before he came for you? And then you and our friends restored the magic he stole to all of Equestria?”

A scoff. “Yeah, like I could forget it. You’re not here to talk about him, are you?” She slowly picked up a book from the floor near her. Discord got a good look at the cover; it was the collective journal of the six friends.

“No, not exactly.”

“So?” Twilight prompted. Unseen to both of them, Spike had poked his head over the railing of the second floor, watching the exchange with interest.

Discord swallowed his anxiety, then came clean. “Twilight...I never got my magic back.”

The journal hit the ground with a loud thunk, then silence.


End Prologue Chapter