The first year of being separated was rough for the mane 6, how do you deal with your best friends being gone, maybe never seeing them again?. Rainbow and Applejack had responsibilities to take care of, one being trained as a soldier and the other being the head of the farmers. Pinkie was soon turned "chaotic" by Discord, and Rarity was busy taking care of the decorations in the new Canterlot Castle. The ones that felt the worse were Fluttershy and Twilight.

Discord had crushed all the confidence and development over the shyness and insecurity that Fluttershy had made with his betrayal, she was back at square one, she had severe trust issues. She blamed herself a lot, maybe if she hadn't convinced her friends of letting her try to reform Discord, none of this could've happen. She tried to comfort Pinkie the best she could, but Discord won her over. And with the moon being up all the time, her Flutterbat from was harder and harder to control every time.

Twilight stayed endless nights at the library, or in her personal room, staring at the only thing she had managed to save from her old friends: The Journal of Friendship. What was the source of happiness, now was the symbol of her failure, why she couldn't get her key in time? If she had, they could have used the elements. She read and read between the pages of the now worn journal, hoping to find what she'd missed. The only ones she let see her were Spike, and Rarity when she was free of her duties in the castle. She was exhausted of trying to make up plans that would never succeed, that could let her see her friends again, that would end this whole mess…but she couldn't do it on her own.