Prologue - A History Lesson
It had happened 95 years ago, a terrible evil had erupted from the depths of Equestria that resulted in the shattering of continents and the killing of important political and hierarchical figures. The deaths of Princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Twilight Sparkle devastated everyone, as did the death of the now friendly Queen Chrysalis. Shortly afterwards the remaining Elements of Harmony bearers followed, tossing the rest of Equestria into disarray and horror.
With the death of the Bearer of Kindness, Discord went on a rampage against the one who had caused such destruction. At the time there was no name, they just referred to it as "The Grand Blooded", a creature similar in form to that of an Alicorn, but with a blood red coat and powerful dark magic capable of destroying even the Princesses with ease. The fight between the Grand Blooded and Discord resulted in the shattering of the landscape of all of Equestria, causing entire landmasses and continents to shift, bend, sink and raise, now Equestria's geography holds no resemblance to it's previous state, changed forevermore.
Unfortunately Discord was not strong enough, even when an unlikely alliance was formed between a now released Sombra, a solidified Tantabus and a now released Tirek, alongside many pony's, griffons, zebra's, and all other races of Equestria working together to defeat the Grand Blooded. The fight wiped the population of Equestria to the bare minimum, and at the end of the fight, the Grand Blooded spoke for the first time to all creatures of Equestria.
"You, who have given me the title Grand Blooded, shall know now that my name is Armok, God of Blood. I did not attack out of malice, but out of righteousness. You grew complacent, and that is unforgivable. I have changed your lands, reshaped your entire planet, and destroyed your leaders. New leaders will be born, by your own efforts, and you will begin anew. Know, however, that this world is not a friendly one. Good luck, my little ponies..."
After his speech he had dissipated, never to be seen again, but his influence was still felt all across the now scarred and changed landscape. Over the course of 95 years we've managed to rebuild, at least a small bit, with new settlements, new homes and new families. No-one knows what happened to the 6 elements of harmony, but rumors say that they're still out there, waiting to be found by new bearers. For now, this is not our primary concern.
Our goal now is to create even more homes and attempt to bring our lives back into a semblance of normality. And that is my goal here in Velvetglitter. My name is Sheen Scourgloss, I'm a teacher, but for the moment I'm also the leader of our expedition. We've found a place we can settle, in between two large hills, and we will make our own home here. Hopefully, it will last a long while. We shall see.