Prologue

PROLOGUE

The figure encased in stone was a curious sight to all passing it. Those well-versed in Equestrian history would recognize the eerie statue. It had a human head, and torso, but that was where all similarities ended. It had a deer antler on the right of its head, a goat horn on the left and different-sized pupils. It also had the right arm of a lion, the left claw of an eagle, the right leg of a lizard, and the left leg of a goat. In addition, it had a bat's right wing, a Pegasus' left wing, and a snake's tail with a white tail tuft. The statues expression was frozen in a state of eternal shock. All in all, it looked like something right out of a horror movie.

All who passed by knew just what had happened to the sculpture, and none questioned why this was such a fitting punishment. They all agreed. So, day and night would pass, and the statue would remain the same. Nothing would ever change this statue.

Right?

Of course, as every genre savvy person may know, saying that "nothing would ever change" is just begging for trouble- and in Equestria, when you beg for trouble, trouble delivers.

Where there should not have been was a tiny crack, unnoticeable to all but those with a well-trained eye, and even then barely. In the cold of the night, however, there was no one to see. Of course, it was just a tiny little crack, and every stone cracked once in a while. It was nothing to worry about.

As if determined to defy such reasoning, the crack grew.

The growth started from the top of the head and going right down the middle, almost as if the statue was slowly being split in half by an extremely sharp sword. The crack continued to enlarge, spawning many other tiny cracks that formed their own fragments.after a little of this, the cracks all ceased to grow and the pieces formed began ti fall off of the figure. All that was left was a living, breathing look-alike of the stone creature.

Its first reaction was to blink. Then, a wicked, sly grin spread across the creatures face. He stretched his arms, flexed his fingers, and wiggled his toes. Either the Elements are weaker than before, he thought, or the prophecy was true. If it was possible, the creatures grin grew even wider. It didn't make sense, but he didn't seem like one who favored making sense.

That would be because he wasn't.

It's definitely gonna take more to get rid of me, the one and only Discord!

If there were any in the garden, they would have seen the creature fly off. Even then they wouldn't have heard him shout- he had flown too high.

"It's good to be back!"

PoC-PoC-PoC-PoC

THE NEXT MORNING...

Princess Celestia, one of the rulers of Equestria, wasn't normally on edge throughout her day. However, this was one of the rare times she was. There was a reason for this.

To ensure that nothing happening around the castle escaped her sight, she always sent a few guards to scout the area around the castle and report anything out of order. The guards came back about 30 minutes later, and each one lined up in front of her. She heard them all tell her nothing was wrong and dismissed each one- that is, until she got to the last one, a guard named Shining Armor. Though he was one of the more relaxed and carefree guards, he looked very nervous today. As he approached Celestia, he began to sweat, and his sentences came out disjointed.

"P-p-princess, m-monster, statue, escape, g-g-gone---"

"Shining Armor, what is the problem here?" asked Celestia. "And speak clearly."

"I went to check the gardens like you asked, and, well... dis..."

"Speak up, please."

"dis... g..."

"I told you to speak up, Shining." This was most unlike him, more proof that whatever this was was serious.

"Discord is gone!"

Celestia couldn't believe it.
Discord had escaped.

She dismissed Shining with a short "Go," and flopped onto her bed. This was an extreme shock and something she had not been expecting this early in the morning. Of course, she believed that her student and friends, the Elements of Harmony, would be able to stop him again. She did have her doubts, though. If the Elements really worked, how did Discord escape? Would they need more this time? She thought so- the prophecy said so.

As she mulled over the news, her sister barged into her quarters. Though it was always pleasant to see Luna, and the younger sister did drop by periodically, Celestia could tell this particular visit had an underlying sense of urgency. Nevertheless, she attempted to remain calm. Celestia turned to face her. "Good morning, Luna, what is it that you want?"

Luna seemed to have been running, as she was breathing heavily when she arrived. She now leaned against Celestia's dresser, one hand on the edge and the other on her knee.

"Tia... it's finally... happened."

"What has, Luna?"

"They have found... the Emeralds... it's almost time... to bring them here."

Celestia's expression turned from sullen to one of shock. That made sense considering the recent escape of the Lord of Chaos himself. This meant that the prophecy was, in fact, true. "Very well, Luna. Let's keep tabs on them for now, and see what they discover on their own."

Luna nodded, and left the room.

As she did this, the princess of the sun walked over to the balcony. As she placed her hands on the rail and looked over the streets of Canterlot, she couldn't help but worry for her country.

Fear not, citizens of Equestria... of the world. I have full confidence that those heroes involved in this affair shall not let you fall.

Author's Note:

A short start to (what I hope becomes) a saga of epic proportions. R&R.
Next chapter will deal with how each person got their Emerald the day before this. Look at my profile for information about this story. Also, expect Shiny to play a huge role later in the story.

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