Desperate Times Prologue

Equestria, a place brimming with the love and happiness of its people, a place where smiles are commonplace, and the pursuit of happiness need only take you a few metres. The sky was always blue, the grass always green, and there has hardly a rainy day through the calendar year.  Order and balance of the Celestial Empire kept the land in check, though none of the ponies had reason to step out of line. Most creatures lived in harmony with one another, but as is the case with most things, there are those that seek to disrupt the perfect balance of the land.

 

The first of the disruptions came as part of a thousand year old conflict between the current ruler, Princess Celestia and her sister, Princess Luna. The latter had become a shadow of her former self, consumed by hatred and a lust for power. She sought to oust her sister, and cast Equestria under a blanket of darkness, one that would last forever. Not content with standing back and letting her out of control sister wreak havoc amongst their subjects, she fought back and fiercely at that. Though no matter how much she fought back, she couldn’t will herself to deal the final blow. Instead she opted to harness the Elements of Harmony, and used their power to banish her sister to the moon for a thousand years. Though it pained her to do so, it was decided that it was the only choice, lest Equestria suffer under her sisters’ rule. Once Luna was banished, the threat she possessed slowly faded from the collective mind of Equestria, only to return once more one thousand years into its future.

 

There was only one pony that had actually worked out that a thousand years were about to pass since the time of the Princess’s banishment. A bookish Unicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle, who confronted the Princess upon her return, though sadly she was unable to prevent the villain acting out her plan, and Equestria, was thrust into darkness. Only with the help of five other ponies, was she able to locate the Elements of Harmony. It transpired that her and her five new friends proved to be the embodiment of the elements themselves. Together they summoned the tremendous force they possessed, and banished the evil that had manifested inside of Luna’s heart. Peace once more returned to Equestria, and the six ponies that held the elements, became a sort of personal defence force, to be called upon by Celestia at any moment.

 

Not long after the return of Princess Luna, came another disturbance to the land, this one much more chaotic and dangerous than the predecessor. Everyone was alerted to his arrival by strange goings on throughout the land. Chocolate rain, rapidly growing crops, strange afflictions to the animals of the land, and Celestia summoned for the Elements of Harmony to combat it. They were soon up against the chaos entity Discord, and he proved to be a worthy foe. He stole the powers that the ponies possessed, and hid them away, leaving them with nothing more than a riddle to locate them. Through an error of judgement, the ponies found themselves scouring Canterlots’ Royal Maze, where one by one Discord infiltrated the minds of all but one of the elements. By the time they had all regrouped within the maze centre, five of them had become total opposites of their natures. The Element of Laughter was nothing more than a grumpy, agitated mean pony. The Element of Generosity had become greedy and shallow. The Element of Honesty was a complete liar. The Element of Kindness had become some sort of a brute, and the Element of Loyalty had abandoned them without thinking of the repercussions of her actions. The only one left that remained untainted was the Element of Magic, Twilight Sparkle.

 

However Discord soon got to her, damaging her faith and her confidence. However she was soon returned to her former self, thanks to a plan set in motion by her mentor, Celestia. She set about restoring her friends, and together, along with the power of the elements, they challenged Discord once more. He wasn’t impressed by their challenge, and proceeded to act with immaturely about the situation, ultimately resulting in his downfall. The six ponies summoned their power, and encased Discord inside a stone prison, from which he was unlikely to break free of. Celestia held a ceremony to praise the work of the Elements of Harmony, and to ring in a new era of peace across Equestria, one that was likely to last for many days and nights to come.

 

And last it did, the ponies enjoyed much more peace than they had during the time between Luna’s return and the presence of Discord. However sometime after the third disruption to the peace, an attempted takeover by the Changeling Queen, Equestria seemed to go from bad to worse. A new craze appeared to be sweeping through the land. Ponies began to disappear, and never turning up again. A dark secret began to envelop Equestria in its shadow. At first no-one really understood what was going on, until strange ‘dealers’ started cropping up in the shadows and alleyways. They claimed to be selling a lifelike, miniature, pony doll, something that you could act out your wildest fantasies on, perfect for the average macrophile. It took the creatures of Equestria by a surprising storm, the disappearances becoming a fleeting thought in everyone’s minds. It surprised the higher ups to see how fast the pony used the dolls to act out their hidden desires. Within weeks the streets had become scarce, there was hardly anyone present. And those that were present, they didn’t show the same love and care that had been shown before. They were cold and harsh, acting as though anyone and everyone were beneath them.

 

Eventually the public shows began, and this was when the Princesses stepped in. Ponies took to stages, putting their toys on the floor, and committing all sorts of debauched acts, that would only be found in fantasy. The dolls reacted well, you held a hoof over them, and they squirmed and begged to be spared, quite the lifelike programming, or so it was thought. The biggest problem was that if you brought your hoof down and crushed the doll, it stayed crushed, even had a bit of lifelike blood for added effect. Crowds would gather all over to see whatever creative acts the depraved ponies could come up with.  This however proved to be the final straw for the ruling bodies of Equestria, and they set out to put an end to this, but first, they had to get an idea of what they were dealing with.

 

Once again the Elements of Harmony were called upon, this time to track down and bring back one of the dealers. All six of them, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, set off to accomplish the task, though it didn’t go to plan. They failed to catch one of the dealers, but they did succeed in rescuing some of the tiny ponies. In response the Princesses set up a research team of highly trained Unicorns, the Element of Magic herself overseeing the project. In retaliation to the attempted kidnapping of one of their dealers, the disappearances ramped up in succession. They even managed to capture some of the Elements of Harmony, also corrupting a further element, though the others remained unaware. The remaining three, Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Rarity ran themselves ragged trying to round up more of the tiny ponies, but the dealers were aware of their faces, and wouldn’t sell to them.

 

Time transpired, and Twilight’s research team began to thin, all attempts to restore the ponies seemed to be for naught, and the researchers felt their time could be devoted to better things. Twilight stayed on, if only to not disappoint Celestia and Luna, the ones who had gave her this opportunity in the first place. Rarity slipped out of contact with the others, mainly due to demand for smaller clothing for the tiny ponies, and something else, but she wasn’t at liberty to divulge. Pinkie Pie lost her usual hyperactive personality and refused to cheer up until her friends were found. As things seemed to be hitting a new low, a new type of tiny pony raced onto the market, this one was marketed as being invincible, and could be crushed, eaten, and shoved up places it shouldn’t, and still survive. All the while the public remained ignorant to what they were really doing. Killing and maiming their former friends.

 

Equestria still remained and bright and cheerful place, but the residents, they had become selfish, sadistic individuals, nothing like what they used to be. Celestia and Luna grew more and more desperate with each day, their options wearing thin. This time, there was going to be a much higher price to pay for peace, and every pony that was fighting for it, knew exactly what they were getting into.