Twisted Chaos

by TheBlueFox

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Dark, Sad, Romance
Length: 9846

Discord, Moonlight, and her friends are all sent to another world by a strange force. Moonlight finds out that in the world Discord has betrayed her. And a Unicorn named Eternal Rays will let them go home if they travel through her labyrinth.

After a day of spreading chaos across Equestria Discord, Moonlight, and her friends are sent into another world. Star Dim, Crazed Candy, Chocolate Pie, Discorded Swirls, and Cotton Feathers cannot find their families; Moonlight then discovers something shocking. Discord has betrayed her and has set Luna and Celestia free! Desperately, Moonlight searches for a way to get Discord back. A Unicorn named Eternal Rays tells her that she has captured the real Discord and that she will send her, Discord, and her friends back to their world only if they play her game. Moonlight and her friends agree, and they are sent into a giant labyrinth, where they will have to face their greatest weaknesses. One by one they are captured by Eternal Rays until Moonlight is the only one left. As the challenges get harder and harder Moonlight begins to fear that she may be stuck in the labyrinth forever and might never see Discord again.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-12-04 02:52:17 UTC

Falling Through Chaos

"Whoo! That was an awesome day of fun!" Chocolate Pie squealed. Crazed Candy chuckled. "I'll say! I can't  remember the last time we had that many ponies covered in octopus ink!" Moonlight smiled. "Yes! I remember that was Star Dims idea!" The purple Unicorn beamed with pride. "Well what can I say, it only takes one incident in the shop to become the newest way to spread chaos!" Moonlight sighed with a big smile on her face. "I can't wait to see Discord and finally be able to get some sleep." Discorded Swirls smirked. "You can never get your mind off that Draconequus can you?" Moonlight Chaos shook her head. "Nope! He's my life, and I intend on keeping it that way." Crazed Candy smiled. "I swear the more time you spend with that guy the less you want to leave him, in fact you only leave him when he asks you to." Moonlight turned a bright shade of red. "Well he also enjoys spending time with me, you know how much he cares about me....." Cotton Feathers rolled her eyes. "We know, we know....." That one remark made everyone laugh. One by one they all said their goodbyes and went home.

Moonlight found Discord waiting for her. He ran over to her and gave her a big hug. "I was wondering when you would be coming back." Moonlight giggled. "Part of that is my fault....." Discord smirked. "Let me guess, you were busy talking about me while you were coming back." The blush in Moonlights face returned. "Um, maybe......I might have done something like that." Discord shook his head. "You are just too much sometimes. Come on, you look a little tired." Moonlight nodded. "I suppose I am a little tired...." Discord picked her up and said, "I think I can fix that." He snapped his fingers and they were instantly in their bedroom. Discord gently placed her down and caressed her face. "Goodnight dearest." Moonlight smiled. "Goodnight my handsome Draconequus." Discord sighed and snuggled next to her. In less then ten minutes both Moonlight and Discord were asleep.

Meanwhile in a very brightly covered part of Equestria a pale pink Unicorn with a mane that shone like the dawn looked out over Equestria. She had a bright smile on her face, she did not look very scary. In fact she wasn't scary at all, she did not have the heart to do the many terrible things she had seen being spread across the land she loved. She knew the land was ruled by an evil tyrant and did not like the ways that others were being treated; though many of the ponies had come to respect the ways of chaos. Still others were practically driven insane from the disharmony going on, and this Unicorn was going to put an end to it. Of course she wouldn't use violence or threats, she would calmly state what she was going to do, and would simply find a gentler way to end this foolish disorder. She knew exactly which ponies would be needed. News traveled extremely fast in Equestria, and now everypony would finally get some more happy thoughts to think about.

Harmonious Chaos

"Moonlight.......Moonlight......" A gentle voice called out to her. Moonlight slowly opened her eyes. "Moonlight.....wake up......." A very blurry image came to her eyes. It looked like her mother. "Mom? What are you doing here?" Moonlight could now clearly see her mother standing over her. "Good morning sweetie. Are you feeling alright? You were crying an awful lot last night." Moonlight was surprised. "I was crying?" Her mother nodded. "Yes, you were. Was it because of Discord?" Moonlight got nervous. "What happened?!" Straight Starlight looked confused. "Don't you remember? A few years after you got married, Discord.......left you, all your friends.....you came back to us....." Moonlight's heart sank. "Discord.....betrayed me?" She didn't believe it was true, but her mother was NOT a lair. Straight Starlight took wrapped her hooves around her daughter. "I know sweetie, I know your upset. Your Daddy and I are here......it's alright." Moonlight couldn't help but cry in her mothers embrace. Discord couldn't have left her, he was with her last night. She was tired of being tricked into believing Discord didn't want her, she was not going to leave him again. "Do you want something to eat? Daddy made pancakes, just the way you like them." Straight Starlight asked. Moonlight nodded. "I suppose, Daddy's still here?" Her mother nodded. "Of course he is." Moonlight sighed and made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. She could see her father Black Sun, reading the newspaper upside down. He looked up and saw Moonlight. "Hey there Miss Chaos, are you hungry?" Moonlight smiled a bit. Her father had nicknamed her Miss Chaos ever since they discovered what her magic was capable of. Moonlight sat down next to her father. "Since when do you read the newspaper upside down?" Black Sun chuckled. "Ever since I found your husband reading the paper like this! It's time I had a little fun." Black Sun realized he had mentioned Discord. "Did you sleep at all last night?" Moonlight shrugged. "I suppose.........." Black Sun's smile turned into a frown. "When I get my hooves on that Draconequus I'll make sure he regrets hurting my daughter like that! The traitor...." Moonlight shook her head. "Dad, don't call him that! It's not his fault." Black Sun gave his daughter a cautious glare. "I know your hurt Moonlight, but he did leave you. It's just who he is......now are you going to eat or am I going to have to finish this all by myself?" Moonlight laughed. "Pass the syrup...."

After going through twenty pancakes Moonlight turned to her mother. "I'm going to visit Cotton Feathers Mom. I'll be back." Straight Starlight smiled. "Moonlight, your old enough to make your own decisions, you don't need my permission to say where your going. You go ahead, we're always here in case you need us." Moonlight Chaos hugged both her parents and raced out the door. "Be careful Miss Chaos!" Her father called out. "Oh don't worry Daddy, I won't be the one getting hurt." Moonlight called back When she got outside she stopped. All the chaos was gone, ponies were playing in the sunlight and all the disorder had vanished. "So that's what they meant when they said Discord left me........he betrayed me and freed Celestia and Luna!" Moonlight realized. She rushed down the center of the town, while running she noticed Discorded Swirls. "Discorded Swirls! What are you doing?" The grey Pegasus noticed her and had a worried look on her face. "Moonlight! I can't find Blazing Dash, or Rainbow Swirls and Chaotic Blaze! And why is everything so......peaceful?" Moonlight motioned her hoof for Discorded Swirls to follow her. "I'll explain everything later, right now we have to find everypony else." Discorded nodded and followed her behind. They eventually found Chocolate Pie crying near a candy shop. "Chocolate what's wrong?" Discorded Swirls asked. Chocolate Pie sniffled. "I can't find Raspberry, Vanilla, Dark Chocolate, or Strawberry! I miss them so much!" Moonlight gave Chocolate a reassuring look. "Don't worry Chocolate, if you come with us I promise we will get them back." Chocolate gave her a slight smile. "Okie dokie." The three ponies searched the now organized town and tried to search for Crazed Candy and Star Dim. "Ah! This place is too organized I can't tell where anything is anymore! Or else I would know where to look for Crazed Candy!" Discorded said in an annoyed tone. Just then a familiar Earth Pony rushed up to them. "Moonlight! Discorded! Chocolate! Thank Discord I found you, please tell me you know whats going on!" Chocolate Pie giggled. "Don't worry Crazed Candy, help us find Star Dim and we'll be perfect!" The white Earth Pony pointed towards a small part of town. "Isn't that her right there?" The five of them could clearly see the blue Unicorn in the distance. "Star Dim!" Chocolate Pie called. Star Dim immediately ran towards them. "Oh girls it's awful! I can't find Silverpants anywhere! Not to mention Diamond Ring, Midnight, and Shimmering Star are all missing!" Crazed Candy sighed. "Calm down girl! We're heading to see Cotton Feathers right now. Come with us." Star Dim groaned. "Oh alright, lets go!"

The five of them reached Cotton Feathers' house, and were immediately greeted by the pink Pegasus. "It's about time, you came looking for me!" Moonlight smiled. "Sorry for keeping you waiting your highness." Cotton Feathers smirked. "Right, so can you please tell me WHAT IS GOING ON HERE! NOTHING IS MAKING SENSE, AND I DON'T MEAN THE FUN WAY!" Moonlight sighed. "Alright here is what I've found out. Supposedly a few years after Discord and I were married, he betrayed us and released Celestia and Luna. That explains why everything is so, unturned upside down. So that means, we are in some kind of alternate world, as for why the rest of our families are missing, I have no clue." Star Dim sighed. "This is just awful! At least we know our husbands haven't done anything, but Moonlight I'm sorry about Discord." The other five nodded in response. Moonlight looked out one of the windows, and saw the castle. "I'm going to talk to him." The others were shocked. "WHAT!" They said in unison. Moonlight gave them a glare. "It's the only option we have, besides maybe the castle has a way for us to get out." Discorded Swirls flew towards her. "Then your not going alone. Besides who knows what could be in there, danger, terror, monsters!" Discorded covered her mouth at that last one. "Whoops sorry!"Everypony laughed. "Let's go to Canterlot Castle!"

Discord and Harmony

The train ride to Canterlot felt like it went way to fast. Moonlight's stomach was literally being twisted into knots. How would Discord react when he saw her. Everypony already knew she was married to him. How would Celestia and Luna react! These thoughts were flooding through her mind and were making her sick. By the time they reached the Canterlot train station Moonlight felt as if she would hiccup butterflies. When they entered Canterlot all of her friends looked at her with worry. "Are you gonna be okay sugar?" Crazed Candy asked. Moonlight closed her eyes for a moment when she opened them she calmly replied. "I'm fine Crazed. You don't need to worry about me." Slowly the six of them trotted up towards the castle. When they got inside they could hear laughter. It sounded like Discord. "Split up and see what you can find." Moonlight said with a serious expression on her face. While the other five split and went different ways, she followed the laughter. She found Discord in a large room along with Celestia and Luna. When the two sisters left Moonlight slowly walked in. Even though he had his back turned towards her, he knew she was there. He had a sly smile on his face. He quickly turned around and looked at Moonlight. "Well, well, look who's come to visit!" Moonlight's eyes got bigger as Discord approached her. Discord pulled her closer and gave her a gentle kiss. "I was wondering when you'd come around. I missed you." The Draconequus said as his smile got bigger. Moonlight frowned. "It didn't seem like it. Are you really a traitor?" Discord rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, you and I both know you don't really mean that." Moonlight grit her teeth. "Yes, I don't believe that! Because I know this is not who you are. Since when do you enjoy seeing everything in harmony, the great and powerful Spirit of Chaos. Even though I don't believe any of this, tell me......why would you betray me?" Discord wrapped his paw around the blue Alicorn. "I didn't betray you, I did what was meant to happen. You betrayed me, many times..........." Moonlight stared at the ground. "That's a LIE Discord, you know well enough that I would NEVER betray you." Discord put his paw under her chin. "Then tell me Moonlight, why did you leave me? Yes I freed Celestia and Luna, but even if I did would you leave me? Even after one 'mistake' that I made? Why don't you trust me anymore?" Moonlight snapped at the last one. She didn't want to yell, she wasn't going to hurt him either. So she leaned towards him and shared a deep kiss with him. When she pulled away her face was a dark red. "Come back to me Moonlight, we can still have Equestria. You and I can be together again. I promise." Moonlight sighed. "Don't even bother Discord. I'm sorry, I promised I wouldn't doubt you, I wouldn't ever resist you. And I'm going to keep that promise." Moonlight pulled away from his grasp and began to walk out the door. "I look forward to our next 'visit', maybe things will be different........" Discord looked confused, but acted as if nothing odd had happened. "Very well, I'll see you again darling." Moonlight turned away from him and found her friends in the next room. "Well, where's Discord?" Cotton Feathers asked. Moonlight simply pointed towards the entrance. "Let's go, we're leaving." Discorded Swirls looked towards her. "What are you talking about? Discord's not here, and we haven't found anything yet so..........." Moonlight stomped her hoof. "I SAID WE'RE LEAVING!" The five ponies looked surprised but didn't argue and made their way to the front of the castle. "What's with Moonlight?" Discorded Swirls asked. Crazed Candy looked at their friend. "I don't know, but judging by the way she's acting; it can't be good." Just as they left Princess Celestia walked by, she noticed Moonlight and called out to her. "Moonlight dear, are you alright?" Moonlight turned to the sun princess. "Shut it Celestia! Haven't you done enough? Leave me alone!" Suddenly a bright light appeared blinding everyone.

Moonlight looked around the area she was in. It was filled with pink, yellow, purple, and orange colors. In the distance she could see Discord. "Moonlight!" He called out to her. The Alicorn ran towards the Draconequus. And was welcomed to a big warm hug. "What happened to you!" Moonlight said with worry. Discord was about to explain when a pink Unicorn appeared in front of them along with Silverpants, Raspberry Pie, Butterscotch, Bitter Tart, and Blazing Dash. "Silverpants!" Star Dim called out to her husband. The pink Unicorn gave them a bright smile. "Hello everyone, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Eternal Rays, I am not after magic nor am I looking forward to splitting you all apart. That's not how I work, I am simply here to say that what you have been doing isn't the right way to go about things." Eternal Rays could hear all of them groaning. They didn't like the fact that she was acting WAY too nice and was making too much sense. But she continued anyways. "When you all fell asleep last night I simply took you to another 'world' of Equestria where Discord actually did the right thing. He released Celestia and Luna and allowed Harmony to thrive. Creating happiness and order, I took Discord and your husbands and kept them with me. So you could see what was going on and everything would make more sense. Now because I am a fair pony and respect that you have your ways I will make a deal with you. Moonlight Chaos and her friends will go though a small test. They will be placed in a large labyrinth that will test their skills and their weaknesses. If they make it to the end of the labyrinth then I will release Discord and the others and you may continue your reign of chaos undisturbed. Fail and what you saw will become a reality and everything will be as it must be." Moonlight looked at her friends and then at Discord. They didn't really have a choice. Moonlight let go of Discord and walked towards Eternal Rays. "I accept your challenge." Cotton Feathers stepped forward. "I accept your challenge." Crazed Candy joined. "So do I." Discorded Swirls nodded. "Me too!" Chocolate Pie giggled. "And me!" Star Dim sighed and said, "I suppose I do too." Eternal Rays smiled. "Great! You can have a minute with your husbands then the challenge will start."

Star Dim rushed towards Silverpants. "Oh! I thought I wouldn't be able to see you again!" Silverpants smiled. "Don't worry dear, I would never leave you on purpose." Star Dim sighed. "Where is Shimmering Star, Diamond Ring, and Midnight?" Silverpants gave his wife a concerned look. "I'm afraid their still at the old castle we were taken to. Along with Moonlight's, Discorded Swirls', Crazed Candy's, Chocolate Pie's, and Cotton Feathers' sons and daughters." Star Dim snuggled against Silverpants. "Don't worry, we'll complete the challenge and we'll make sure everypony gets home." Meanwhile Discorded Swirls and Blazing Dash were busy arguing over each other. "I was so worried about you! Do you have any idea how nervous I was?" Discorded Swirls asked. Blazing Dash sighed. "How do you think I felt when Rainbow Swirls and Chaotic Blaze were with me and you weren't? You were all nervous, you're going to face challenges. And I know your good at challenges." Discorded gasped. "You think I'm good?" Blazing Dash nodded. "You're awesome Discorded Swirls." The two shared one last hug, which is what Cotton Feathers and Butterscotch were doing. "Why do I always get dragged into these things?" Butterscotch asked. Cotton Feathers smirked. "Because you love me and know I'm worth it." Butterscotch laughed. "Right Miss Mean Queen." Cotton Feathers nodded. "And don't you forget it!" The two of them laughed and looked over towards Chocolate and Raspberry Pie who laughing up a storm. "So what do you think will happen, and should I bring chocolate cake or vanilla pie?" Chocolate asked. Raspberry just smiled. "I have no idea, and why choose? Bring both!" Chocolate laughed. "You're right!" Then she reached into her mane and pulled out a small cake. "Want some?" She asked. Raspberry smiled. "Don't mind if I do!" He grabbed the cake and stuffed it down his mouth. Once again the two started laughing. Meanwhile Crazed Candy and Bitter Tart were sitting close together in each others embraces. "I'm a little nervous Bitter Tart, what if I don't see you again?" The blue Earth Pony shook his head. "C'mon Crazed Candy! You're the one that spreads the bad luck, you don't give yourself bad luck! Now show me that beautiful smile of yours." Crazed Candy looked at her husband and gave him a small smile. Bitter Tart beamed, "That's my strong, confusing, beautiful mare." Crazed Candy began to speak in her confusing language. Bitter Tart sighed. "I love you too." Lastly Discord was keeping his claw around Moonlight and talking softly to her. "I want you to create as much chaos as possible. Labyrinths are our playground." Discord explained in a low voice. Moonlight nodded. "I know Discord. She may like making sense but that doesn't mean you have to." Discord smirked. "Believe me Im already getting a headache from it!" From out of nowhere Moonlight made a glass of chocolate milk appear, she drank the glass and tossed the liquid away it created a small explosion followed by fireworks. "That's my favorite pony." Discord said with pride. He pulled Moonlight closer, and whispered in her ear. "I love you, remember that." Moonlight sighed dreamily. "I will, I always have." Moonlight savored Discord's touch because it would be a while before she would hear his voice or feel his touch again. Moonlight dug herself into his fur and gently sniffed it. It was filled with pleasant aromas that made her want to fall asleep in his grasp right then and there. But Eternal Rays had other plans, once she saw that they were about ready she said in a strong voice, "It's time to begin."

The Labyrinth

As soon as the six mares walked towards Eternal Rays, Discord, Silverpants, Bitter Tart, Butterscotch, and Raspberry Pie all vanished. Then Eternal Rays vanished and the six ponies found themselves at the beginning of a large labyrinth. "Oh my goodness! This labyrinth is huge! I love it!" Moonlight squealed. Then they heard Eternal Rays' voice. "As you may notice the labyrinth has six paths, one for each of you. When you look down each of the paths five of them will be empty and one will you will see familiar items and special illusions, that is the path you must take. You will each face different challenges and you greatest weakness. Good luck everyone!" Star Dim sighed. "Alright girls let's do this! I'll go first..." Star Dim looked down three of the six paths and saw nothing. But when she came to the fourth, she found fabric and jewelry and pictures of Silverpants. "Well, I found my path, good luck girls!" Star Dim called out. As soon as she stepped into the labyrinth a large hedge appeared and blocked her from everyone else. "What was that about? I didn't see anything!" Discorded Swirls argued. Crazed Candy rolled her eyes. "Were you listening? The Unicorn said five of the paths would look empty but one would be filled with illusions for one pony alone." Discorded Swirls glared at her. "Okay okay! I get it!" Crazed Candy laughed at her confusion. "I'll go next, I just wanna get this done!" Crazed didn't need to look very hard to see candy and sweets floating in the second path, there were millions of swirling patterns and she could see Bitter Tart. "I found mine!" She called out with pride and raced down the second path. Once again a large hedge appeared and separated them once again. Cotton Feathers trotted down the paths until she came to the sixth path. It was filled with pink and blue illusions, pictures of Butterscotch and her and Moonlight when they were younger. "Woah! I see which path is mine I guess. Bye Moony....." Discorded Swirls flew towards each of the remaining three paths and when she came to the fifth she saw trails of fire, and colorful patterns, images of Blazing Dash and many dangerous obstacles. "Aw sweet! I get the awesome path!" She raced down her path and was separated. Moonlight turned to Chocolate Pie. "You can go next Chocolate." The brown Earth Pony giggled in reply. "Aw! Thanks Moonlight!" Chocolate saw nothing in the first path so she instantly knew which path was hers. When she came to the third path she saw candy floating everywhere, there was bright pink swirly colors, and images of Raspberry Pie. "Bye Moonlight! I know you'll do great! She called. When Moonlight was the last one standing she looked down the first path. It was the only one left. It was full of chaos, random objects floating everywhere, the hedges were different colors, and the path was made of soap! The best part was she could see hundreds of illusions of Discord. A small smile appeared on her face as she flew into the first path, with the final hedge sealing her in.

Discord looked out of one of the windows in the castle. The maze was huge! It stretched on and on for miles, yet he still knew if they all went at normal speed and didn't come across any dead ends, they would be in here in less then ten minutes. Silverpants and Bitter Tart had already started up a business conversation, being the gentlecolts they were. Butterscotch was hiding in a corner of the room and probably thinking to himself. Raspberry Pie and Blazing Dash were doing there own thing and laughing. Discord flew towards Butterscotch. "You know they're all going to be find, she's strong." Butterscotch looked up at Discord. "I know, but I still can't help but worry, for all of them. It's easy for you to say, I don't mean to insult Cotton Feathers, but I know Moonlight is stronger then any of them. And I have a feeling she'll make it farther then any of them." Discord shook his head. "She might not, Eternal Rays said they would also have to face their weaknesses, and I have a feeling that it won't be easy for Moonlight to face hers." Butterscotch smiled. "It's you isn't it?" Discord laughed. "Was it that hard to figure out?" Butterscotch looked towards the and sighed with a serious expression on his face. "Come on Moonlight, I know you can do it." Discord whispered to himself.

Moonlight Chaos, Discorded Swirls, Cotton Feathers, Crazed Candy, Chocolate Pie, and Star Dim were all rushing through the labyrinth. They could feel their powers growing stronger, their hatred beginning to rise, and their need for chaos began to grow. They were not about to give in, not yet.

Operation Elimination

By the time Crazed Candy finished reading the storybook her head was spinning like a top and she couldn't even see correctly. She felt extremely dizzy, but as promised the hedge next to her disappeared. "Ah, finally!" Crazed sighed in relief and continued down the path, if that was just the first test she didn't even want to know what the next test was going to be like, but she kept her head up and slowly walked down the path. "I hope I never have to that again!" The white Earth Pony said to herself. As she moved down the path her headache grew worse, and she had a bad feeling she wouldn't make it through the labryinth much longer. She wasn't the strongest out of the group and she had one of the easiest weaknesses. She hoped Bitter Tart would understand if she DID get eliminated.

Star Dim shielded her eyes. "Oh my, it's so awful! I can't look!" She surrounded by bright neon colors. Her eyes were beginning to sting. Had she really done this? Just to play a game, that she probably wasn't going to win? What was the point, if she was going to fail at another test? "Alright you pink Unicorn! I'm tired of your games, you can take me out of the labyrinth I don't care!" Eternal Rays appeared in front of her. "Are you sure Star Dim? Once you leave you can't come back......" Star Dim looked around her, it had only been the first test and she was already tired of this place, her eyes were burning from looking at the colors, not to mention that she couldn't stand the look of this place. She wanted Silverpants, she was tired, she didn't care what happened. She just wanted this to end. "Yes I am certain." Eternal Rays nodded. "As you wish....." Star Dim sighed. "Moonlight, I'm sorry but I can't keep this up. I know you can finish this, along with the rest of our friends."

Discord and the other stallions were all growing more and more worried by the minute until Eternal Rays returned with Star Dim. Silverpants ran to her. "Star Dim darling! What happened? Are you alright?" Star Dim wrapped a hoof around her husband. "Oh Silverpants it was awful! I couldn't take it anymore! I'm sorry if I let you down..... it was so organized and bright and my eyes and head are burning!" Silverpants took her to a corner with pillows and blankets. "Now calm down dear, I'm here and you're alright. Lets try to relax, you tried your hardest and I'm proud of you." Silverpants wrapped a blanket around her and snuggled next to her. While the rest of them wondered how their wives were doing, we're they tired, confused and possibly in pain? Bitter Tart was pacing around the room, while Butterscotch was getting a headache from worrying so much, Raspberry Pie had done nothing but dig at the ground until there was already a two foot hole in the floor. Discord kept staring out the window, hoping that Moonlight was okay. And that whatever she was going through wasn't to bad. If she decided to quit he wouldn't be mad at all, he would be waiting here for her. To give her comfort and to help her relax, if Star Dim was like this after the first challenge, what would the others be like?

Cotton Feathers' head was constantly being flooded with nice thoughts, some of them were extremely girly even for her. Isn't this place so nice? You get to have lots of fun! Then you'll get to meet your friends again! Then you can have a good time, you can dress up, and meet cute animals, draw pictures, and everything pretty pink!" She was practically being driven insane! She wanted it to stop, but she wasn't going to be a coward and give up now. She started this, and was going to finish it. Or at least try; she came across Eternal Rays with Discord next to her after walking through the labyrinth for the next fifteen minutes. "Alright Cotton Feathers, are you ready for your next test." The Pegasus smiled. "Oh I would love that! Yes please!" She replied with delight, but quickly covered her mouth. Did she really just say please? Eternal Rays smiled. "It appears the kindness lessons are beginning to take good effect." Then she turned to Discord who once again touched her forehead causing more generous and sweet thoughts to flood her head. Now her colors were changing, her coat was becoming a pale purple and her mane was turning into a bright orange. She almost looked like her daughter, Flutterbreeze! Cotton Feathers had as light frown on her face, but Discord's magic was causing her to smile. Apparently each test would raise the amount of nice thoughts in her head and would affect her actions. Cotton Feathers didn't know how much longer she could take this.

Chocolate Pie bounced along the path so far, this had been easy. She began to grow more confident, and now she was ready to end this. She could tell she was halfway through the labyrinth because she could see the tallest towers of the castle at the end. Soon she came face to face with Eternal Rays. "Hello Chocolate Pie." The brown Earth Pony frowned. "You really thought you could fool me with that fake look-a-like! HA! I'm ready, come on! I want some fun!" Eternal Rays smiled. "As you wish." They were both surrounded by a bright light. When the glow faded Chocolate Pie saw her friends, they were all crying. Moonlight and Discord were arguing, but not in the good, fun way. "I can't believe I thought you would ever love me! I was always a monster to you wasn't I!" Discord yelled. Moonlight put her face up against Discord's. "You were never the monster, I can't believe you betrayed me for them!" Chocolate knew she was referring to Celestia and Luna. "I betrayed YOU? You were always leaving me because you thought I didn't care about you! But you were right, I'm not the monster here my dear......YOU are." Discord said in a cold voice. He grit his teeth and took his eagle claw and scratched her left eye. Moonlight jumped back, Discord leaned toward her and slapped her extremely hard Moonlight dropped to the ground. When she got up her wing was bent and the left side of her face was scarred. Discord kept the other four from reaching her. He got closer to her. "You wanted a part of me, well now you have a mark to show the entire world you knew me. And just in case......" He took the ring he gave her and placed it on a chain, he put it around her, and cast a spell preventing her from taking off the chain. "Now everyone will know who you belong to...." Discord stated. He got closer to her but was greeted by a shove and a small slap on the face. Discord put his claw up to the part she hit and growled. He gave her an angry look and flew away. Moonlight looked at her hoof, like she felt guilty for hitting him. Then she began to silently cry.

Chocolate gasped and felt tears beginning to form, "Hey! This is not fun!" Eternal Rays' voice could be heard from behind her. "What do you mean, this is exactly what you do to other ponies." Chocolate shook her head. "NO IT'S NOT!" Eternal Rays stopped. She didn't like seeing other ponies hurt, so she tried something else. "You don't like seeing them unhappy do you?" Chocolate Pie stared at the ground. "No....." She said in a sad tone. Eternal Rays put a hoof around her. "That's right, see? Friendship can help bring them together. You don't like seeing Moonlight and Discord fight because you and I know they love each other." Chocolate looked mad. "Exactly, which is why we don't need friends! Friendships cause heartbreaks, arguments, and disagreements. But nopony understands, so we show them how it feels, we don't need to have a heart all the time.." Eternal Rays sighed. "Yes Chocolate Pie, you know that if I win this Equestria will be the way it should be. And you don't want to be sad, you don't want you friends to be sad, you don't want Discord and Moonlight to feel sad. You don't want them to split up like you saw earlier, you like creating laughter and happiness to yourself. You don't want other ponies to laugh at you so you laugh at them, but do you want to get blamed for seeing them so unhappy?" Chocolate Pie shook her head once again. "No....." It was true, she loved seeing them happy, because they made her world of happiness, they made her who she was. She didn't want to go through anymore, even if they lost, she would make sure everything would be okay. She was going to make sure of that. "Stop.......I don't want anymore." Eternal Rays gave her a gentle pat on the back. "Are you certain?" Chocolate nodded. "Yes....."

Star Dim and Silverpants had just woken up from their nap to discover Chocolate Pie and Eternal Rays appear. Raspberry ran to her and squeezed her tightly. "Chocolate, sweetie are you okay?" The female Earth Pony nodded. "I was so worried about you Raspberry, I need to do something." Chocolate walked over to Discord. "Will you promise me something?" She asked in a quiet voice. Discord looked down at her. "Chocolate Pie dear, what's wrong?" She looked up at him and asked, "No matter what happens, promise that you will never stop loving her; don't let her hurt you. Don't hurt her......." Discord didn't know what she had seen but he could tell it was important. "I promise my dear, now show me that beautiful smile of yours." Chocolate Pie gave him a gentle smile and was pulled into a warm hug. "Now, I think a certain stallion is looking for your attention....." Discord noted. Chocolate nodded and snuggled next to Raspberry, and in a few minutes they were giggling every few seconds that went by. Star Dim eventually joined her and the two of them went into deep conversations. Discord went back to looking out the window. Chocolate Pie and Star Dim were both eliminated from the game, that meant that Discorded Swirls, Crazed Candy, Cotton Feathers, and Moonlight Chaos were still in the labyrinth. Discord didn't even want to think about what Moonlight was going through for him, but then again, she had encountered far worse before.......

Moonlight was getting annoyed. Ink Illustration always had to be RIGHT next to her, he was making her talk constantly. But it was going to take more then this to make her quit. She hoped her next challenge would start soon. Almost ANYTHING would be better then this....almost...... "So Moonlight my darling, could you tell me a little more about that chaotic husband of yours?" Moonlight gave Ink Illustration an odd glare. "Seriously?" She asked, she wanted to know if he really meant it. Ink nodded. "Of course, I know how much you care about him.......I love it when you talk about something you like. You become so passionate and very in depth..." Moonlight rolled her eyes. Truthfully she didn't know how to feel about this. Glad? Angry? Offended? Interested? Slowly she started to tell the story. "If you really want to know, it really happened when we were both very young........." Ink Illustration nodded and began to listen. If he wanted any chance on winning her back, he needed to pay attention to everything she said. No matter how boring, even if he had to fake every single part of the act.....

Twists and Turns, Marks and Scars

Discorded Swirls felt a strong urge to flap her wings, but she knew if she did the game would be over for her. She hoped this would end shortly. Whining and complaining was getting her anywhere. Discorded Swirls continued running down the path. When she stopped she came across a small puddle, the water was pink. In the water she saw Cotton Feathers, Discorded Swirls gasped. Her coat was purple and she had a large smile on her face. She didn't look quite as intimidating as she usually did. It was scary to see her friend that Discorded knew as mean and selfish, to be so kind and generous. Then the reflection changed to Chocolate Pie, instead of laughing at other ponies she was being laughed at. She was sad and wasn't her sneaky playful self. Discorded Swirls was shocked, then the water rippled and Crazed Candy was shown. She looked extremely friendly and didn't look like she was always hiding something. She looked a bit too trustworthy and looked like she was always working. Star Dim took her place, she looked very stressed and she didn't look as nice as she normally did. But she looked extremely happy, and brighter. Literally! Her dark purple coat was now a bright lavender; her once deep purple and blue mane was now bright pink with streaks of a rose color. Moonlight was last, she looked like she was happy, she was different. She was extremely kind, and loyal, dependable and honest. She looked very friendly; inside was something worse. Whenever she was alone, she would be in her room and become extremely angry. Almost her entire room was destroyed except for one photo that she could never bring herself to let go, no matter how hurt she was. It was the last picture she had with Discord next to her. What Discorded Swirls saw next made her gasp. Moonlight turned around so Discorded could see the right side of her face. It was scarred, there were claw marks over her eye; which was blue unlike her other eye and a red print on the entire half of her face. Discorded looked at carefully and noticed the mark was in the exact same shape as..........Discord's lion paw......That meant Discord had hurt her, he used his eagle claw to make the marks over her eye, and he had smacked her so hard with his lion paw it left a permanent mark. Discorded Swirls also noticed her right wing looked damaged. The feathers were out of place, and her entire wing was bent in a strange way. The puddle slowly began to fade. Her wings felt light again, she could fly. That was her second challenge, and she couldn't believe what she had seen. Discorded Swirls promised she wouldn't let that happen. She flew a few feet above the ground and raced towards the castle.

Cotton Feathers was about to go crazy, so many kind thoughts were filling her head. Part of her wanted to scream but the good part was telling her this wasn't bad thing. Don't worry, it's just a game. You don't have to win. You'll get to see Butterscotch and all your friends anyway, then you can meet Princess Celestial and everything will be sweet and happy. Then you can play all day, have fun and enjoy every day. Cotton grit her teeth. "Be quiet!" She scolded herself. Why? You know I'm trying to help. I trying to get you to smile and feel better. Cotton sighed. She knew she wouldn't be able to help it; that was the truth her mind was trying help her feel better. And it wasn't really working, at all...... Just when she thought things couldn't get worse she saw Eternal Rays and Discord again. "Oh great." Cotton whispered to herself, she didn't think she would be able to handle anymore. "Don't even bother, I'm done." She said in a tired voice. Eternal Rays gave her a concerned look. "Are you sure?" Cotton nodded, she was beginning to get a headache and her stomach was filled with butterflies and it was making her sick. "Yes.......please." Eternal Rays nodded. "Very well then." And in a flash they were gone.

Butterscotch was just about to panic when he saw that Eternal Rays and Discord returned with Cotton Feathers. Butterscotch ran over to her, "Cotton Feathers, are you alright? Are you hurt?" The pink Pegasus pushed him away. "Hey! Hey! Hey! Give me a little space, would you! I just got here and you're asking me a million questions!" Cotton smiled. She was back to normal. Discord sighed in relief, "Finally! I thought I would die of boredom! At least you have your old attitude back. It fits you so much better." Cotton Feathers smirked. "Yes it does." Butterscotch smiled. "That's my mare." He put his hooves around her and listen to her go on and on, letting her do her thing. He wanted her to relax and didn't want to make her mad. He was glad to have his special somepony back. Now all that was left was Discorded Swirls, Moonlight Chaos, and Crazed Candy.

Ink Illustration turned his head away from Moonlight for a moment to relieve his boredom with a large yawn. He was getting tired of her talking about Discord already. Moonlight stopped for a minute, Ink turned to her. "What's wrong dear?" Moonlight shook her head. "Don't call me that, why am I even still talking to you?" Besides the fact that she already didn't like him, and that she knew he wasn't interested in what she was saying Moonlight didn't understand why she was doing this. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable again, she hoped this first test would end. Moonlight looked up; she could see almost half of the castle ahead. Had she really walked halfway through the labyrinth with Ink Illustration? Now she knew what was going on, Eternal Rays wanted her to become more interested in Ink Illustration causing her to forget what she was doing; that would allow Eternal Rays to release Luna and Celestia. Which would lead to her leaving the game. There wasn't anyway Moonlight would fall for something like this. She turned to Ink Illustration with a devious smile on her face. "Moonlight what are you doing?" Ink asked in a worried voice. Moonlight didn't answer, instead she hit Ink Illustration with her magic. He transformed into a large photo of Discord. Moonlight kissed the picture. "That is MUCH better!" But after a minute she paused, she still had a long way to go. And she was getting a strange feeling something bad was going to happen.

Eternal Rays Decision

Crazed Candy trotted down the path, her headache was getting worse she had gone through many small tests and wanted it all to stop. She didn't want to think, talk, move, heck she didn't even want to be standing! She was done, Crazed Candy had reached her climax, and she couldn't take it. She turned to a picture floating next to her, it showed her a Bitter Tart. The white Earth Pony sighed, "Oh Bitter Tart please forgive me. I tried, really Ah did." As she walked deeper into the labryinth waiting for Eternal Rays to show up she kept forcing herself to go on. Eventually her body felt so weak she collapsed. Crazed Candy sighed, she decided she would herself a moment to rest. Then a pink puff appeared in front of her, as it cleared she saw Eternal Rays. "Crazed Candy! Are you alright?" She asked. Crazed shook her head. "No I'm not! I'm tired, I can hardly stand, Ah have a headache! I don't want any more, no more games. I'm done......" Eternal Rays could tell she wasn't feeling well, and didn't want her to hurt herself. "Of course, I'll take you back. You'll be able to see Bitter Tart. Would you like that?" The pink Unicorn asked. Crazed Candy nodded. "Yes....." Eternal Rays helped her stand up. And by using her magic they were both gone.

Back at the small castle everyone was surprised when Eternal Rays returned with Crazed Candy. Bitter Tart ran towards her when he saw she looked weak. "Crazed Candy! Are you alright my darling?" He put his hooves around her and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead. Crazed Candy sighed, "Ah'm fine, but I'm just tired." Bitter Tart turned to Discord. "She's exhausted, and terribly weak, Discord can you please help her?" The Draconequus flew over to her, "My, you went through quite a bit in the labyrinth didn't you dear?" Crazed Candy smiled. "Very funny Discord...." Discord returned the smile. He grabbed her hoof and a yellow beam appeared. Crazed Candy moaned for a moment, but she looked much better after the spell had taken affect. Bitter Tart sighed in relief. "Thank you Discord! You are amazing!" Discord smile grew wider. "I know, I know." Just then Star Dim, Cotton Feathers and Chocolate Pie called to her. "Crazed Candy!" They yelled in unison. The white Earth Pony smiled at them. Discord went back to staring out the window, now that Crazed Candy was out of the game, that meant Discorded Swirls and Moonlight Chaos were the only two left.

Discorded Swirls began to run faster and faster. She was almost there, almost at the end of labyrinth. Finally! She knew she would make it! Just she was about to make it something stopped her. Something that truly terrified her. It was Blazing Dash, only he looked extremely weak. Discorded Swirls ran towards him. "Blazing! What happened to you! Speak to me now!" Blazing looked up at her. "It's alright Discorded Swirls I'm fine." Discorded watched as her husband get up and he looked perfectly fine. "Come with me so we go home." The mare stared at him. "Wait she let everyone go?" Blazing nodded. "Yes, now come we must hurry." Discorded Swirls nodded and began to follow him out of the maze. As they began to go back Blazing stopped her. "What are you doing?" Discorded asked. But Blazing didn't answer, instead a bright light surrounded him and in his place stood Eternal Rays. Discorded Swirls looked angry. "You! What did you do to Blazing?" Eternal Rays sighed. "He's fine, I can assure you he's fine. But you Discorded Swirls did not complete your test. You failed........" The Unicorn grabbed Discorded's hoof and they disappeared.

Blazing Dash was getting worried, was Discorded Swirls okay? Just as his worry was getting worse Eternal Rays appeared once again with Discorded Swirls. Blazing ran to her and wrapped his hooves around her. He noticed that she had a sad look on her face. He tried his best to make her feel better, and make her feel safe. "Discorded Swirls, are you alright? I'm here, what's wrong?" But all he got was a sigh, Discorded Swirls looked up at him. "I'm sorry....." She said. Discord ran towards her. "Where's Moonlight?" Discorded shook her head. "I'm not sure, I didn't see her anywhere in the labyrinth. Why? She isn't with you?" Discord grew nervous. Moonlight was still still in the labyrinth. Eternal Rays looked at them from the other side of the room. She had all of them except Moonlight, she knew Moonlight would be hard to break. Maybe a little too hard, she did have an option. But she didn't want to hurt anypony. Yet her desire for harmony and friendship were great. Sadly she whispered. "Celestia, please forgive me with what I'm about to do......"

The First Challenge

Crazed Candy rushed through the maze. Her mane was trailing behind her, so far she had not come across any dead ends. She understood confusion, she knew you always had to choose the path that made the least amount of sense. Soon she came to a small opening in the labyrinth. She found Eternal Rays standing in front of her. "Hello Crazed Candy." The Earth Pony frowned. "What do you want?" She hissed. Eternal Rays gave her a gentle smile. "This is your first challenge. If you pass then you may continue, fail and you will be taken out of the labyrinth and will have to hope the others finish." Crazed Candy groaned. "Alright fine! What do I have to do?" Eternal Rays used her magic to make a book appear. She gave it the white pony. "You must read this entire book out loud, without trying to make no sense out of it. Which means NO confusion." Crazed Candy's eyes widened. "What! B-b-but.....I c-can't do that!" Eternal Rays shrugged. "Well, then that's your problem. The hedge will not go away until you finish that book. Make one mistake and you will be eliminated." The pink Unicorn disappeared. "Crazed Candy looked at the book. It had ten LONG chapters. But she wasn't going to let a little reading stop her. Slowly she opened the book. "I cannot believe I'm doing this....." She complained. She turned to the first page and began to read. "Chapter One..........."

Star Dim was constantly distracted by the dark fabrics floating around her. When she came to a path that was filled darkness she found Eternal Rays in front of her. "Star Dim, I welcome you to your first challenge." The blue Unicorn sighed. "Really now? What would that be?" Eternal Rays shook her head. "Mind your manners, if I catch you misbehaving again I'll pull you out of this maze faster then your Pegasus friend. Now as you can see, this part of the labyrinth is filled with darkness. I want you to take all of the darkness away and replace with bright, vibrant colors. Then you can move on to the next part." Star Dim gasped. "You cannot expect me to do such a thing! I can't even think about it!" She began to cringe. Eternal Rays shook her head. "You have five minutes, begin." Then she disappeared. Star Dim stared at the darkness, getting rid of it would be a piece of cake, but turning into bright colors was something Star Dim did not want to do. But if she didn't do it, she would be eliminated, and let Silverpants and her friends down. Star Dim's horn began to glow and she began absorbing the darkness. "Your lucky your worth it Silverpants!" She hollered. "When we get home, you and are going to have a serious talk!"

Discorded Swirls tried to go higher to see the rest of the labyrinth, but she found she couldn't go past the top of the hedges so she couldn't see anything. She rushed around the labyrinth trying to find her way out. Eventually she came to an opening, it was empty except for Eternal Rays. "Hello Discorded Swirls." The Unicorn said with a smile. Discorded Swirls frowned. "You! Come on, put em' up! You want a fight, you'll get it!" Eternal Rays shook her head. "I will not partake in violence of any kind. But I do have a test for you." Discorded groaned. "Well, what is it!" Eternal Rays shook her head. "Mind your manners, it's not polite to be rude." Discorded gave her a disapproving look. "Do you know who I am? Do you know who my friend is married to?" Eternal Rays nodded. "Yes I do, and I know where you get your attitude. Your test is simple, you will have to go on through half of the labyrinth without using your wings." Discorded Swirls shook her head. "No way! Forget it! I don't care what you do!" Eternal Rays smiled. "Are you sure?" Discorded Swirls thought about what this meant for her. She would probably be the first one to be taken out of the game, all because she couldn't use her wings! Moonlight could live without her wings; maybe not Discord but definitely her wings if meant keeping him safe. Cotton Feathers too, she really enjoyed flying but it was not something she lived for. What would Blazing Dash think? She would have lost because she couldn't live for a few minutes about her wings! At last the gray Pegasus made her choice. "Fine.....I'll go without using my wings." Eternal Rays nodded. "Good choice, but just in case......" Her horn began to glow and she cast a spell on Discorded Swirls' wings. "If you start to flap your wings the game is over for you." Eternal Rays stated, then she used her magic and vanished. Discorded Swirls stared at her wings and sighed. "I feel so wrong. I can't use my wings." Then she lifted up her head and continued down the path.

Chocolate Pie was eating every sweet in sight, giggling at pictures of Raspberry and their family, and playing with all the toys. Despite the fact that if they lost this game all their fun would be taken away. The brown Earth Pony remained cheerful. She came to a fork in the path, and right in front of her was Raspberry Pie. "Oh my gosh Raspberry! What are you doing here!" Her husband smiled. "That Unicorn let us go, we can go home!" Chocolate smiled. "Oh goody! But we can't get out of the maze!" Raspberry shook his head. "Oh but we can, my silly filly!" He pointed towards an opening that showed the way out. "Come on, we need to go home." Chocolate hopped next to him. "Wait Raspberry, where are the triplets?" She asked in a nervous voice. Raspberry smiled. "They're fine, now let's go." Chocolate shook her head. "Your lying Raspberry. And your not the colt I love! My Raspberry would never leave a labyrinth filled with sweets so quickly, and would never abandon his daughters." Chocolate Pie pinned the fake Raspberry Pie down. "You know what I say to a fake Pie?" She leaned towards him and laughed in his face. "Ha ha!" Then the fake Raspberry disappeared. Chocolate jumped up and laughed. "Easy as PIE!"

Cotton Feathers trotted down her path smirking to herself, this was going to be easy. She had discovered that the labyrinth had no dead ends, so she couldn't get lost. Her confidence grew stronger each second, though it was starting to get a bit boring. Eventually she spotted Discord up ahead. The Draconequus did not look happy, in fact he looked worried. Cotton Feathers smiled at Discord. "What are you doing here Discord? Where is everyone else?" Discord sighed. "Cotton Feathers dear, do you trust me?" The pink Pegasus stared at him. "Why do you ask?" Discord bit his lip. "Let's just say, this your first test. So I will ask again, do you trust me?" Cotton Feathers nodded. "Of course I do." Discord sighed in relief. "Thank you....I'm sorry I have to do this...." Discord gently touched her forehead and all her colors began to fade. "Discord! What are you doing?!" Cotton Feathers screamed. Discord pulled his claw away. "Your first challenge is to see how long you can last being.......kind and generous to others." Cotton Feathers gasped. She had to be nice! That was not what she was about, sweet and nice was not how she played. And now Discord's magic was going to keep her that way until she decided she wouldn't continue. Then she would lose the game. When the last of her color was gone and all her cruel and mean thoughts were gone she sighed. Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared, he didn't want to do that to her. But Eternal Rays had allowed to go near Cotton Feathers to do that one task. Then he was to return with the others, he couldn't see Moonlight just yet. Even if he could, Moonlight would keep going, he knew she was going to finish this. Besides who wanted someone like Eternal Rays around? Cotton Feathers shook her head. "Ok, I can do this. I will find my friends and family and then we can be together and have fun!" Then she growled. "I hate myself, but I wouldn't say that! Aah! So frustrating......" The Pegasus argued with herself in a gentle voice. Her mind was telling her to be nice, but the rest of her was saying to be mean. It was driving her insane!

Moonlight slid down the soapy path. Every once in a while she would flip and try to have a little fun. Everywhere was something that reminded her of Discord in one way or another. So far everything was 'normal' which made Moonlight get a suspicious feeling. Then she saw Eternal Rays, the Unicorn was smiling at her. "Hello Moonlight." Seeing her made the blue Alicorn sigh. "What do I have to do?" She said with frown. Eternal Rays' smile grew bigger. "My you are good, I suppose that's one good thing about being married to The Lord of Chaos." Moonlight grit her teeth. "If you do anything to him, so help me....." Eternal Rays shook her head. "Oh don't worry, I never partake in violence. Are you ready for your first test?" Moonlight sighed. "I suppose...." Eternal Rays nodded in approval. "Well as you know, should you and your 'friends' fail. The reality you were shown can and will become YOUR home, which means you won't be seeing Discord very often, as he will be busy most of the time. And you will be very lonely, so I want you to meet an old friend of yours. You'll want someone to be with, so should you fail I want you to spend with your 'husband'." Eternal Rays' horned flashed and standing next to her was a nicer looking version of...... "Ink Illustration?" Moonlight asked in shock. Eternal Rays nodded. "Yes, I want you two to get to know each other until your next challenge, if you can do that then at least you'll be partly prepared for what could come." Then Eternal Rays vanished leaving Moonlight and the nicer looking Ink Illustration together in the labryinth. "May I?" Ink Illustration asked, offering her his hoof. Moonlight shook her head but gave him her hoof. "Do I even have a choice, I'm sorry Discord....." And together the two continued down the path.