Beneath a Discordant Sun

Chapters

Prologue: Arise
Chapter 1: Our Only Hope
Chapter 2: The Gathering of the Elements

Prologue: Arise

Princess Celestia sighed as she signed the paper before her and added it to her pile of ‘accepted’ proposals. She had been at it for two hours, and the sheer monotony of the task was beginning to get to her.

It wasn’t that the proposals and reports she was reading were necessarily bad. In fact, many of them were superb ideas. Some were impractical, or overlooked a fact or two, but at the core of each was a pony with a desire to make Equestria a better place.

It had been that way for, near as she could tell, five hundred years.

Celestia looked at the next paper in the stack, a proposal intended to fix some of the problems in Manehatten’s new power grid. The city had opted to pioneer the newer developments in the field. So far, it had been going less than well. Manehatten hadn’t been fully operational since they had set up the new grid. Fortunately, this proposal looked like it would have a good shot at addressing most of the problems, and Celestia was willing to give it a shot. She signed the paper and sorted it accordingly. Then she frowned.

Celestia had been, and still was, a big supporter of this project. The newest developments in science never ceased to amaze her. Ponies nowadays were doing things every day that Celestia hadn’t even considered possible a thousand years ago. Because of this, she always took special interest in the largest developments. She had expected that she would feel happy, even excited, about signing off on these changes.

So why did she feel so . . . unenthusiastic?

Maybe I just need a break, Celestia thought, standing up. She exited her study a moment later, joining the two guards who had been standing outside. “I will be taking a walk in the hedge maze,” she told them. “I should be back in an hour or so.” The guards saluted. This was not the first time she had taken an hour off at this point in the day. In fact. . . .

I take these breaks every other day, after two hours of reading proposals, and I'm back in time for court every time. Frowning, she made her way down the hall to the staircase at the other end. Everything I do, I did yesterday, or the day before that. Usually both. The staircase took her to the ground level, where she turned right, heading for a door that would take her out to the gardens.

Get up and raise the sun. Go to the small dining room and meet Luna for breakfast – or dinner, in her case. Go to my study and read proposals. Two guards moved to open the doors for her, but she did it herself, with more force than was strictly necessary. Then maybe a break. That's probably the most variation my schedule gets. She passed the rose garden without looking in. Then I come back, and it's time for court. Her frown deepened at that. Six hours of listening to the aristocracy is enough to drive anypony insane, and I do it daily. Lost in her thoughts, she hardly even noticed the sculpture garden as she passed through it.

At least I have whatever is left of the day for free time, she acknowledged. Provided, of course, there are no other pressing matters to attend to. And when was the last time that happened?

By the time she reached the hedge maze, Celestia’s mood had soured greatly.

The guards at the entrance saluted her, but she neither acknowledged them nor slowed down, instead going straight into the maze, hoping to lose herself in its passages.

My time with Luna: breakfast, dinner, dawn, and twilight. That never changes, either. Once a week, on Sundays, I go to my spa for two hours. I do that at exactly the same time I would have otherwise taken my break. And business follows me there, too, in some way or another. It's always the same thing, over and over again. I haven't had a disruption in my schedule for four months now. Before that, a year, and before that, who knows how long? And in between, nothing changes. It's always the same thing.

She didn't realize she was galloping until she almost crashed into a couple of nobles who were also wandering the maze.

“Oh!” Celestia skidded to a halt, flapping her wings, as the couple reared back in surprise. “I'm sorry! I seem to have lost track of myself.”

The couple slid smoothly into bows. “No need to apologize, your Majesty,” the stallion, a silver earth pony with a pale green mane, said. Celestia recognized him as Whistle Wind, a racing pony whose family owned a glass business of moderate size. A low-ranking noble, he was surprisingly sober for his enviably exciting life. “It was most definitely our fault. We should have been more careful of where we walked.”

Celestia gave a small smile. “Oh, don't be so modest. It was my fault; I shouldn't have been going so fast.” Realizing they were both still bowing, she added, “please, stand.”As they did, Celestia turned to the other pony, an orange mare - also an earth pony - who she didn't know. Her cutie mark was a pair of crossed needles. “And who might you be?”

“This is Hearth, a friend of mine,” Whistle Wind said before she could answer. “She's not a noble, but I wanted to give her the opportunity to see the castle.”

“And what a castle it is!” Hearth said, practically squealing. “I've never seen such majesty!” She blinked then, remembering who she was talking to. “Er . . . your Majesty. . . .”

Celestia chuckled at that. “I'm glad you like it, my little pony,” she said with a smile. Hearth blushed in response.

“Your Majesty,” Whistle Wind said, “we appear to have gotten lost. Would you be so kind as to allow us to tag along until you decide to leave?” Hearth emphasized the suggestion with an “ooh, yes!”, her expression one of sheer delight.

Celestia smiled in response, but inside her mind raced, trying to come up with a way to escape. Not the aristocracy. Not right now. . . . Thankfully she found one. “Thank you for the offer, Whistle Wind, but I couldn't possibly impose myself on you two. You're just too cute together!” She grinned at their matching blushes. “No, I won't walk with you. But, if I can find you on my way out, I would be happy to join you then.” She winked at them before continuing down the path she was already in.

Well, that was fun, Celestia thought with a smile.

* * *

Well, that was . . . strange, Whistle Wind thought, watching the Princess walking away, a spring in her step. He had been a part, if relatively minor, of the nobility for years now, and had seen the Princess on many an occasion. She had presented him the awards herself the couple times he had won the Equestrian Cup. He had even run into her a couple times outside of formal proceedings – in this maze, as a matter of fact. It was why Whistle Wind was here now – Hearth had wanted to meet the Princess.

She had certainly done so.

Glancing at the mare now, Whistle Wind found her completely spaced out and still blushing. What is she thinking about, I wonder? He quickly answered his own question: likely how Princess Celestia noticed our relationship. Hay, I'm still a little flustered by that.

. . . of course, she could just be watching the Princess's flank. Luna knows it's not the worst in the castle. Suppressing his own blush, Whistle Wind nudged his marefriend, bringing her out of her stupor. “Come on,” he said, and they started walking again, taking a different direction than the Princess had gone.

They walked in silence for several minutes until finally, Hearth spoke. “Is she normally that . . . carefree?”

“If she is, she doesn't show it,” Whistle Wind replied. Every time he had met the Princess of the Sun, she had seemed perfectly formal and in complete control. He had begun to think her personality was that of perfect formality and control, even knowing the mask he himself hid behind. Yet, as he thought about it, he realized that the control was almost too perfect, the formality too precise. Even further, he suddenly recognized a few extremely subtle pranks she had played on other nobles, and a couple on himself, that he had never recognized in part because the prankster had been his ruler and goddess. Also because they were so unbelievably subtle. She has the element of surprise and a thousand years of practice, he thought with a slight smile. A mighty opponent indeed.

“Oh. Why now, then?” Hearth asked. Whistle Wind looked over at her. A very cute thoughtful expression lay on her face as she tried to dissect the motives behind Princess Celestia's actions. That was why, he thought, he had fallen in love with the apprentice dressmaker. She wasn't as quick-witted as the nobility Whistle Wind was used to spending time with, but she thought about things that actually mattered, and that easily made up for anything else. And she was honest, too – no noble would have asked that question, knowing that Whistle Wind could take offense at it. For that, he gave the mare an affectionate nuzzle, making her giggle.

She had a point, though. Whistle Wind and Princess Celestia were by no means close. They had met a few times, but that was it. And those were mostly formal occasions. Whistle Wind wasn't about to pretend he knew the Princess well enough to warrant any affectionate treatment. And, considering the political ramifications of even such a small action as this, it was . . . surprising, to say the least, that the Princess would even consider it. She has a thousand years of practice. Why throw it away now? She couldn't be going mad . . . could she?

* * *

Celestia continued at a more sedate pace after leaving Whistle Wind and his marefriend behind. Though she kept her speed in check, however, her bad mood returned almost immediately. Had she really promised to meet up with them again before leaving the maze?

You'll be going back anyways, she reminded herself. She had to hold court after this walk. Staying forever wouldn't do, and would almost certainly be more boring than court, however dull the aristocracy tended to be. But . . . heavens were they dull! And annoying, too. Celestia was sure she had heard a group of them discussing nothing more than a single mare's dress – for an hour. And she spent all day with those ponies. It was amazing she hadn't become one of them.

Celestia turned another corner and stopped. She had come across a clearing in the maze. It was paved, like the rest of the maze, except for the flowerbeds on the sides and the setup in the center. This she began to walk towards.

It was a single statue, one which, up until recently, had been in the sculpture garden with the rest. One could say it had been moved for its fearsome design. It depicted a twisted, serpentine form, each part mismatched. Eagle's talon, lion's paw, dragon's tail, pony's head. Even the two horns on its head were different. It lacked symmetry and consistency. It was unnatural.

Such was the form of a draconequus.

Celestia looked up at the towering statue of Discord. His expression was completely different from the first time. Originally, he had posed, pretending to be singing as the Elements of Harmony had turned him to stone. Celestia had always found that fitting. It was just like Discord to not even take his own petrification seriously.

The second time, however, he had been caught with an expression of shock and fear upon his mismatched features. Celestia wondered about that. She knew he had been caught off-guard by the Elements, but it was uncharacteristic of him to forget himself so much that he didn't make a joke out of the situation. Then again, what was characteristic of the embodiment of chaos? Perhaps it was better not to worry about this particular mystery. The subject matter was far too unpredictable to make a study reasonable.

Unpredictability. She could use some of that in her life. When was the last time her schedule had been interrupted? Well . . . come to think of it, it was Discord, three months ago. She had spent all her time during that crisis attempting to subvert his power, sending back Twilight Sparkle's friendship reports, and restoring order where she could. She had been so worried at the time, afraid of Discord's reign beginning again. Now she realized: it had been the most interesting thing to happen in centuries. The return of Nightmare Moon had had nothing on that.

Celestia thought back to Discord's first reign, before the day she and Luna had used the Elements to turn him to stone. It had been a time of fear and confusion, when no pony could so much as be certain where they would wake up the next day. Or even if it would be day; Discord had liked to make the day-night cycle completely random. You could fall asleep one night and wake up the next morning, or you could wake up several mornings later, without having slept a second more.

Yes, fear and confusion had reigned during that time. But not all chaos was bad.
Oftentimes, one of Discord's works brought a pony to laugh. Ice cream cones randomly appeared to ponies. Groups of dancing oxen cheered up the most miserable. Sometimes, a filly would disappear, only to turn up again with a collection of lost family treasures. Celestia herself had come across a trinket or two during that time which had provided her no end of amusement.

Wouldn't it be nice to have that again?

Celestia blinked. Did I really just think that? Bringing back Discord's reign would in no way be a good thing, and she knew that. Sure, the era had been fun but the suffering far outweighed the enjoyment. She glared at the statue as if it had somehow caused the wayward wish. And maybe it had; who knew with Discord?

Sighing, she turned her back on the draconequus statue. As a side effect of being able to move the sun, she knew what time it was off-hoof. She would have to leave very soon if she was going to make it to . . . court. The thought of spending another three hours with the aristocracy made her shudder. And petitions, too. While they weren't nearly as bad as listening to the nobility talk, they did tend to get tiresome. Celestia wondered if she would be able to survive another day of the monotony.

In an effort to procrastinate, she turned back to the statue, meeting its lifeless eyes. It seemed like such an impossible state for such a lively creature. Boring had always been Discord's least favorite adjective, and he had often gone out of his way to try things in a way that hadn't been done before. Back when it was still possible to do such a thing.

Celestia had always admired Discord's ability to laugh, and to make others laugh. It had made him tolerable beyond his unpredictability. Whatever he did in the name of chaos, he always found a way to make it funny. He would make whole orchards uproot themselves and leave, but they would be tap-dancing the whole way. Or he would start a war, and leave the participants with weapons no more lethal, though generally more refreshing, than a cheese sword. Celestia still laughed at the time he had turned a mountain into a pile of whipped cream. It had taken the Discord-equivalent of weeks to get rid of it.

Yes, there had never been a dull moment with Discord in charge. One day seeing in shades of pink, the next doing battle with hordes of clumsy peacocks.

Maybe we could have that again, she thought idly – and then she realized what she had just considered.

With a shocked gasp, she shook herself, trying to clear away whatever had made her think that. Because she could not have thought that herself. Discord is a force of chaos, opposed to all harmony. His very shape is a symbol of the turmoil he causes! He must remain in stone forever. She turned and began to walk away. It must be the statue. I need to get away from it before I do something I regret. She opened her wings to escape – and remembered what awaited her. It gave her just enough pause to lose the urgency of escape.

Folding her wings again, she wondered if she really wanted to go back. Back to court. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. At that, she shook herself again. What is wrong with me? This isn't even an argument! I can handle a few hours' discomfort for the sake of Equestria! I've done it for over a thousand years! But she still couldn't make herself leave.

Now that it was out in the open, the concept seemed easier to think about. Freeing Discord. She still shuddered to think that, but thought it she had. It felt . . . strange in her mind, like it didn't belong there. Perhaps it didn't. She had, after all, been guarding this prison for the past millennium. What reason did she have to change her mind now? And yet it seemed that she had done just that.

Freeing Discord. The act could bring the unpredictable lifestyle Celestia envied among ponies who performed or competed in tournaments for a living. It could give her a lifestyle not unlike that of Whistle Wind. Except, of course, without his sober mannerisms. Speaking of sobriety, it had been months – neigh, years – since Celestia had gotten truly drunk. Perhaps Discord's return would give her a chance to change that. It shouldn't be too much for her to ask – especially since there'd be nopony she'd have to ask. Ahh, wouldn't that be nice.

Freeing Discord. It was a bad idea. A terrible idea. Far too many ponies during his reign had woken up miles away from all they knew. Livelihoods were ruined before they had even started. Ponykind had had no hope of advancing to a civilization as powerful as they were now while chaos had reigned. Hadn't Celestia, just an hour ago, signed a proposal to fix some of the problems in Manehatten's new power grid? That would have been impossible under Discord.

And yet, hadn't she been bored as she had signed that sheet of paper? Was a livelihood better than having fun and being provided for all day, every day? Hadn't those ponies really just been given a chance to meet more ponies and make more friends? In the end, wasn't it all good?

Freeing Discord. Doesn't seem like such a bad thing after all, Celestia thought, pointing her horn at the statue. It began to glow, and the stone began to turn back to living flesh.

* * *

Luna bolted upright, listening to the ringing in her head.

One of her guardian spells had been broken.

Abruptly, it stopped, and she frowned. Had the perpetrator changed their mind and reversed their progress? Luna only placed her guardian spells on the most important things in the capital – the Elements of Harmony for instance – and they were designed to get more insistent as the crime went on. Few things could cause them to stop like that. Perhaps Tia was already on the scene. It was the middle of the day, after all. No reason for the Princess of the Moon to interrupt her sleep when her sister already had the problem under control.

She lay back down, intending to slip back into her interrupted dream. It had been a good one. She had been in her Night Court, and it had been full. Such a thing had not happened in reality since . . . well, she didn't think it had happened in reality. Not enough ponies were actually awake for her court. Which meant she couldn't waste this opportunity!

The ringing echoed in her head, reminding her that one of her guardian spells had been broken, if only momentarily. Perhaps we should check them before we go back to sleep. Closing her eyes, Luna counted out her spells. Tia's room? Safe. The Elements of Harmony? Untouched. Which left. . . .

Luna gasped, sitting upright again. Her spell on the statue of Discord was gone!

Without a second thought, she leaped off her bed and ran for her balcony, throwing the doors open with her magic. The brightness of the sun only threw her off for a moment before she ran to the railing and launched herself into the open air, spreading her wings. Then she was off towards the hedge maze, hoping that she wasn't too late.

* * *

That was close, Celestia thought as she cut off the enchantment. She had forgotten about Luna's guardian spells. Hopefully, though, with the spell cut off, she would believe that Celestia had gotten it under control. Which, in a way, she did.

“Haha! Celestia, that tickles!” It almost didn't surprise the Sun Princess that those were the first words out of Discord's mouth once it had been depetrified. She looked up at the half-freed draconequus. The spell had started breaking at the top of his head and had moved down from there. His mouth had, therefore, been one of the first things freed.

It had been put to immediate use.

Celestia smiled as the laughter rolled over her. Her worries that this had been the wrong choice were washed away with it. She had forgotten his laugh. Sure, she had heard it when he had escaped three months ago, but she hadn't been listening. Now, freed from her anger, she could happily revel in the pure joy emanating from the mouth of the spirit of chaos.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of hooves hitting the ground, followed by a shocked “Tia?” The word cut through Celestia, and she turned to face the midnight blue alicorn who stood there.

“Luna,” she said, sounding almost surprised. Her younger sister had yet to put away her wings, and her expression was becoming one of shock and worry. “How did you-”

“Tia, you're turning gray!” Luna interrupted. Celestia was surprised enough at the comment that she stopped casting her spell as she turned to look, leaving Discord still encased in stone from somewhere above his waist down. “Tease,” the draconequus pouted.

Indeed, Celestia was turning gray. Her tail was already completely drained of color, and her cutie mark was in the process of losing it. Watching it creep further up her body, she realized that she had, in fact, made the wrong choice. She should not have released Discord. Perhaps he had had something to do with her choice. . . . Unfortunately, she also realized that it was too late. She couldn't stop herself if she tried. Which she wasn't about to do. Which left only one other pony.

“Luna, it is probably best if you stop me now,” Celestia said. Her voice was strangely calm, given the situation. “Before I turn completely gray, if possible.”

The silence left by her words was broken by Discord bursting out laughing. “Come now, Celestia,” he said in between bouts of giggles. “We all know you don't mean that. You don't want to go back to your boring old routine, do you? Every day, always the same thing?” His laughter was infectious, and Celestia soon found herself laughing along with him.

“No, of course not,” she said with a wide grin. She turned back to the draconequus, remembering that he was still partly stone. “Here, let me get that for you.” Her spell started again – only to stop as Luna used the age-old method of breaking a spell in progress. She tackled Celestia.

“Luna, get off me!” Celestia grunted, trying to push her off. The darker alicorn had her effectively pinned, though. She's always been the stronger one, Celestia thought in annoyance.

“We cannot let thee free Discord, Tia!” Luna said. “Thou wert there for his first reign; thou must know how terrible it was! There cannot be a repeat of that time!”

“That time was good, Luna!” Celestia heard her sister gasp above her. “How could you have forgotten all the fun we had? All the laughs we shared? How could you not want that back?”

“Thou art lost, Tia,” Luna said after a pause. “Let us find thee a way back.” Her horn began to glow, and she pointed it at the graying alicorn beneath her. What she had been about to cast, however, Celestia would never know, for suddenly Luna disappeared. Pulling herself to her feet, Celestia found the other alicorn glaring at her from the side of the garden, behind a wall of jelly.

“Ah ah ah,” Discord said, wagging a claw. “We can't have you raining on our parade, now can we? Here-” he waved his hand, and a slice of cake appeared in front of Luna. “Have a seat, enjoy the show. We're on to the main attraction.” He spread his arms toward Celestia, gesturing for her to continue. The white alicorn didn't argue. This was what she wanted, after all.

As Celestia resumed her spell, prompting another barely controlled giggle fit from Discord, Luna unfolded her wings. “Fine. Unleash chaos upon Equestria if you wish, sister. We will not be privy to thy mistakes.” With that, she took flight.

Celestia watched her sister's fading form until Discord's voice got her attention. “Oh, let her go. We can find her later.” Celestia looked up at his still-laughing face, and felt the words wash away her doubts once more. She’ll be fine. Besides, why should she be around for all the chaos that’s about to occur? She’ll just spoil it anyways. Carefree, she continued to break the stone holding Discord down, oblivious to the gray creeping up her own body at the same time.

Chapter 1: Our Only Hope

"Free!" Discord shouted, leaping into the air. "I'm free at last! Oh, I'm so happy I could dance! In fact, I think I will!" And with that, he produced a top hat and a cane from nowhere and began to dance an upside down jig in mid-air.

Celestia just couldn’t control herself as she laughed and clapped at the performance. A part of her knew that he was just putting on a show for her, but, as childish as it was, she enjoyed it nonetheless. It was exactly what she had wanted - a little bit of chaos to spice up her day, and it was succeeding admirably.

Besides, it wasn’t like Discord himself wasn’t an eyeful. Even if he was standing still, even if he was still a statue, Celestia wouldn’t have minded staring at him all day. In fact, why didn’t I? He was a statue for so long! I should have come down here daily! She frowned at the realization. A thousand years wasted.

Discord, finishing his jig, looked over at her for a moment. His smile never wavered as he turned to examine the hedges surrounding them. Celestia smiled, entranced by the sight. He’s so carefree, she thought with an inward sigh. I wish I could be like him. Even as she thought that, another thought occurred to her. Why not? No mortal pony could hope to stand up to her anyways, and Luna had no chance against Discord. She could do anything she wanted, and nopony could stop her. She grinned at the thought.

Celestia’s gaze settled again on Discord, who was redecorating the hedges. She watched as he changed a roughly circular chunk of the trimmed bush into licorice, then began streaking the rest in various materials. His expression was carefree and cocky, even as he did things no pony in Equestria could do. He’s the most powerful creature in the world, and he doesn’t even care, she thought admiringly. How could Luna not see this? He truly deserves to be free.

“Ahh!” Discord sighed, appearing next to Celestia. “It’s been months since I caused some good old-fashioned chaos! I need to make up for lost time. Ponykind has way too much order for my liking nowadays.”

The Princess smiled, pushing out of her mind whose fault that order was. It wasn’t important now; Discord wouldn’t let it last. "What should we do first?" she asked, looking up at the draconequus, her mind beginning to spin with ideas.

"Good question!" he chuckled, throwing his paw across Celestia’s shoulders. "We could . . . coat the guards in chocolate! Or start a game of cat and mouse with that couple you found in the maze. Or turn the throne room into an ice rink. Oh, yes, that would be fun. You ponies never seem to get the hang of walking on ice.” Suddenly he frowned. “Ah, but we have to take care of your sister and those pesky Elements, and quickly. I intend to stay in the world for a while.” His smile returned, this time with a hint of slyness. “Fortunately, I have a few ideas. . . .”

Celestia frowned. A part of her found something wrong with that. . . . “What kind of ideas?”

Discord looked at her and laughed. “Not killing them or anything. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt your dear sister, or your precious student.” Celestia sighed in relief at that. The draconequus grinned at her, then spun away. “But enough about that! First things first. You-” he pointed at Celestia “-need a new color. That one is getting old fast.”

Celestia looked down at her coat, and couldn’t help but agree. She looked like a grandmare with all this grey. Immortal as she was, that seemed all kinds of wrong. “You know, you’re right. I’ve always wanted to know what I looked like in pink. . . .”

Discord laughed. “Oh, no, not that color. You look great in grey." At her skeptical frown, he just laughed harder. “Trust me, it’s much better than that boring old white. No, I was talking about that color. . . .”

Chapter 1: Our Only Hope

Luna flew as fast as she could, fleeing the impending chaos behind her.

How could this have happened? she thought frantically. What could have made Tia do this? It was so completely unlike her. Celestia had always been more able to resist Discord than herself. She could stand against any of his tricks without flinching, and she certainly would never succumb to the draconequus’ baits. So why had she suddenly decided to free him?

Must get to Twilight and the Elements, Luna thought, pushing herself for more speed. If she could alert them in time, then maybe they could avoid this mess before it ever truly began. Discord wouldn’t be able to stop them if they moved quickly enough, and they would be able to return him to stone - and Tia to normal - before it was too late.

She was able to keep up these thoughts until the sun turned rainbow-colored.

The shock alone was enough to make Luna forget to keep flapping her wings, and she fell a couple hundred feet before she could think well enough to catch herself. When she did, she continued flying at a much slower pace. We’re doomed! she thought in despair.

Above her, the sun was now colored with seven concentric circles, each a different color of the rainbow, with red on the outside and violet on the inside. It was hypnotizing to look at, enough so that Luna had to tear her gaze away and find something else to look at in order to simply keep her eyes on the sky in front of her.

The ground was a good substitute; it was just as strange, but much less hypnotizing. The sun's new colors bathed everything in a vibrant purple - at least where she was. Farther out, Luna could see a ring of blue, and beyond that green, and so on, as if each ring on the sun shone only on a corresponding ring of Equestria. Looking back, the alicorn noted that the innermost purple ring was centered on Canterlot.

Luna snapped her head back forward at the sound of an exclamation from in front of her, just in time to see a mass of blue fur crash into her, knocking her from the sky.

"Oof!" Both ponies began to plummet towards the ground. Instinctively, Luna tried to kick the other pony off of her, or at least right herself. As the ground grew ever closer, her wings kicked into gear, and she was able to pull out of her dive at the last second, gliding the rest of the way to the ground.

The pegasus who had crashed into her, having the disadvantage of receiving Luna's panicked kicks, did not pull out as smoothly. As Luna alighted softly on the earth, the pegasus crashed heavily a few feet away. It was fortunate that the pony had recovered even as little as they had; had they hit the ground at full speed, they would have broken more than a few bones.

Luna examined the pony as she shakily stood. She had a blue coat and a purple mane. No, wait, not quite purple. It looked so, because of the light, but really only one part of it was truly purple. The others were a range of colors, some of which Luna could only guess at. The alicorn only knew one pony with a mane like that, and a glance at her cutie mark confirmed it.

“Rainbow Dash-” Luna began, but whatever she had been about to say was lost as the pegasus cut her off, not even bothering to bow as she jumped back in the air to hover anxiously in front of the other mare.

"Princess Luna! What happened? Why is the sun rainbow-colored?"

Her words brought the alicorn back to the reality of the situation, and her expression darkened once again. "Come. We must get to Ponyville as quickly as possible. We will explain everything there." Rainbow Dash, seeing the look on her face, nodded, and the two took off together, heading for the town that was now just visible on the horizon.

* * *

Pinkie hummed happily as she bounced her way through the Ponyville market. Sugarcube Corner had been running low on supplies, so the Cakes had sent her to pick some up. This was fine with Pinkie, of course, as it meant she got to go see all her friends.

“Good afternoon, Carrot Top!” Pinkie called as she passed the other pony’s stall. Carrot Top gave her a quick wave in response as she set a couple carrots down on the stall front for her customer to pick up. “Good afternoon, Lyra," she added to the customer in question. The unicorn replied in kind as she swapped the carrots for a handful of bits and headed off for her home.

Pinkie continued to greet the ponies she passed as she walked through the market. Occasionally she stopped to chat - Cheerilee's sister had been sick, and Pinkie wanted to check up on her; Raindrops had just been promoted to assistant weather manager; Blossomforth had finally asked Cloud Kicker out - but mostly she just went about her business. She had promised to watch Rainbow Dash practice later, but she had to finish this first. Not that she ignored anypony - she would never do that! But she kept her conversations generally shorter.

Pinkie had finished her shopping and was on the front steps of Sugarcube Corner when something strange happened. Suddenly the building in front of her turned blue! She frowned and reached a hoof towards it, only to discover that she had turned blueish, too. That's not right, Pinkie thought, as screams began to reach her ears.

"Sweet Celestia!"

"What's happening?"

"The sun! The sun!"

At that last, Pinkie looked up as well. "Whooooaa...." She stared at the now-ringed sun, entranced by its hypnotic beauty. It was five minutes later that Mr. Cake finally opened the door and pulled her in himself.

* * *

A soft breeze ruffled Rainbow Dash’s mane as she and Princess Luna touched down in the town square. It was the only thing that moved - every stall was abandoned, every door shut and locked. Luna thought she saw something in the window of a house, but it was gone again in the next instant.

"Where is everypony?" the alicorn asked, peering at a vendor that sold home-grown tomatoes.

"Probably taking cover in a building or something," Rainbow Dash replied nonchalantly. "It's pretty much Ponyville's go-to reaction for anything out of the ordinary. You know how skittish they are. They'll probably be hiding all day."

Luna frowned. She wished she could say something to bring the ponies out of hiding, but what? There is no reason to fear? There was plenty of reason to fear! Discord was back, and Celestia had joined him - hay, she had released him! Who knew what those two could accomplish together? Nothing good, she knew.

Rainbow Dash saw her expression. "Hey, don't worry about it, Princess. They'll be back out in no time at all," the pegasus said, taking her worry to be directed towards the town's residents. "Although," she added with a frown, "it might happen sooner if this sun thing gets fixed. Come on, let's try Carousel Boutique. It’s closest to us."

* * *

Fluttershy was shaking.

She lay on the couch in her living room, huddled tightly into a ball. All the blinds were closed, and the door as well - any place where sunlight might get in was shut tight. But that was okay. The couch was comfortable enough. Fluttershy didn’t mind having to sit on her couch for the rest of her life.

The other animals who inhabited the pegasus’s home were all chirping, squawking, meowing, barking, whimpering, hissing, or chirping - respectively - at the top of their lungs. Everypony from the grounds was also inside, and each one was adding its own call to the cacophony. Fluttershy knew she had to calm them down in order to avoid any injuries - or worse, a stampede - but. . . . The sun!

It had been perfectly normal a few minutes ago, while Fluttershy was out feeding the animals. She had been at the chickens, carefully pouring feed from a burlap sack into a trough, when suddenly her vision flashed blue.

Fluttershy, with a squeak, dropped the sack, spilling feed everywhere, and jumped into the chicken coop. The residents of said coop squawked indignantly as she bolted to the other side.

When nothing happened for a minute, Fluttershy gathered her courage and took a peek outside. She felt a chill as she saw her yard. The ground, her house, the fence, the nearby trees. . . . Everything she could see was tinted blue. Cautiously, Fluttershy stepped over to the entrance to the chicken coop. She looked around - still more blue. Even the few animals still out in the open were blue.

Fluttershy frowned, curiosity momentarily overtaking her worry. She couldn't think of any creature that had the ability to turn everything in an area blue, except maybe Discord. But he was, fortunately, sealed away in Canterlot. Right?

Then she looked up.

At the sight of the sun, Fluttershy immediately eeped and ducked back inside the coop. “Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness!” she gasped. The chickens clucked at her curiously, but, wrapped up in her panicked thoughts, Fluttershy hardly noticed.

What's happening? Why does the sun look like that? Did- she gasped. What if something happened to the Princess? An even more worrying thought occurred to her. What if Discord somehow escaped and cast a spell on Princess Celestia to put her under his control and they are now going to take over all of Equestria?!

At this point, Fluttershy could hardly bear to think anymore.

Suddenly, there was a thumping on her flank. Turning around, Fluttershy saw Angel Bunny tapping his foot on her. When the terrified pegasus looked at him, he gave her an irritated look, then hopped out of the chicken coop and into the blue sunlight. He turned around and beckoned for Fluttershy to follow him.

“But-” she started. The bunny rolled his eyes, then began a complex series of pantomimes. First he flapped his arms, jumping up and down, then he hunched over and pretended to eat something. After that, he made a face that looked like he was hissing and clawed at the air. Finally, he waved one paw in a circle and then proceeded to run around in panic.

“The animals?” Fluttershy asked. “Oh, right! They’re sure to be really confused now. I have to go make sure nothing bad happens!” She smiled at Angel, who had his front paws crossed and was tapping the ground with one foot. “Oh, thank you, Angel! I don’t know what I would do without you!”

And that was how she had ended up cowering on the couch.

Fluttershy sighed. Well, at least I managed to get all the animals inside, she thought. Then, looking around at the slowly escalating chaos, not that that did much. The animals are more panicked in here than they are outside. But I just can’t go back out there. I can’t!

It was, once again, Angel who saved the day. He hopped up on the couch right next to Fluttershy, and deliberately kicked her in the snout.

“Ow!” Fluttershy squeaked. “Angel!” The bunny didn’t even bother with an apology. He just pointed at the rampaging animals angrily, then began tapping his foot.

After a moment, Fluttershy nodded dejectly. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Angel. And to all of you,” she continued to the many animals around her. “I’ve just been ignoring you since th-the sun. . . .” Taking a deep breath, she continued. “Well, the point is, I should have been paying more attention to all of you instead of sitting here doing nothing. Any one of you could have been seriously hurt, and-”

A screeching cat flew past her head, thrown by a bear.

“Oh! Oh, I guess I should stop talking now and do my job,” Fluttershy finished sheepishly. Hopping down from her couch, she quickly began to bring her household back into order.

* * *

A bell rang as Luna opened the door to Carousel Boutique. Almost immediately, a voice sang out from a back room, “be there in a minute!” Rainbow dash, who had followed Luna into the Boutique, opted not to wait, instead flying straight after the sound of the voice.

Luna opted to let them talk. To pass the time, she looked around the room. It looked something like what the princess expected of a fashionista’s workplace. Racks of clothes were set up near the entrance, displaying shirts, pants, dresses, hats, scarves, and various other accessories. Off to one side stood a few marequins - some displaying dress designs, others lined up and waiting for a design to display - while on the other side a trio of mirrors stood ready around a small pedestal. Straight ahead, there was a curtained-off section, likely a display of sorts, and beyond that was a hall and a flight of stairs, from which could be heard the sounds of Rainbow Dash’s and Rarity’s voices.

Luna was examining some of the dresses - with interest; Rarity was a very good designer - when suddenly both ponies rushed down the stairs and out into the front room. One stopped suddenly just past the last step. The other flew a good ten feet before noticing. Rainbow Dash gave an exasperated sigh. “Come on, Rarity, we’ve got to hurry!”

“Bu-bu-bu-bu . . .” she looked around the first floor of the Boutique in shock. “Ev-everything is . . . blue?!”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “She’s got all the curtains closed up there. Didn’t even notice the change.” Luna couldn’t help but chuckle at the unicorn for that. She must have been very focused on her work to not notice the sudden change in the color of the world.

Rarity, meanwhile, had gone into full panic mode. “This is disastrous! I have nothing to wear for a world where everything is blue! I’m going to need to design a completely new wardrobe now!” She made to run over to the sewing machine, but was quickly blocked by Rainbow Dash, who glared at her. Rarity grinned sheepishly. “Oh. Right. Hehe.” She turned and made a bow to Luna, who nodded gravely to her in response. “So, what exactly is happening?”

“We shall explain everything once we have gathered the rest of the Element Bearers,” Luna replied. “For now, suffice it to say that it is the worst that has happened.” Both ponies stared at their ruler with wide eyes upon hearing this.

“Y-you don’t mean . . .” Rarity began.

“Later. We do not wish to have to say this more than once.” Luna gave Rarity and Rainbow Dash a stern look, until both nodded. Then she continued: “for now, we must quickly gather the remaining four Elements. Where would each be at this time of day?”

“Well, Applejack will be at Sweet Apple Acres, of course,” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s Applebuck Season, so she’ll be out in the fields. Or at least she would be before this all happened. She’s probably inside right now I can go bring her back. It won’t take too long with these babies.” She ruffled her wings.

“And I shall go and get Fluttershy,” Rarity added. “She’s probably terrified out of her mind right now. Poor thing.” The unicorn shook her head, then looked back up at the princess. “She’ll need a friendly face right about now. It’ll take longer, but I’m really the best pony to go.”

Luna nodded at this. It did make sense, although she wished she could make it happen faster. Unfortunately, without the power of nighttime, and with Discord running rampant in Equestria, she wasn’t sure she could do much to help. “Then we shall find Pinkie Pie. Do either of thee know where she would be?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Rainbow Dash said. “Even if she wasn’t at Sugarcube Corner before, she’s definitely there now.” Seeing Luna’s look of confusion, she quickly added, “it’s the house that looks like it’s made of gingerbread. You can’t miss it.”

“And then we’ll all meet at Twilight’s in the middle of town,” Rarity said, completing the plan.

“Indeed,” Luna said. She looked at the two ponies who were with her. Rainbow Dash, she was sure would be back in minutes, probably soon after Luna herself reached Twilight’s. Rarity, however. . . . She sighed.

“Is something the matter, Princess?” Rarity asked.

“Nothing that can be solved,” Luna answered. “We just wish it were possible to make thine journey swifter. We cannot afford to waste time.”

“Hey, if speed is so important, I can just fly her over there before I go get Applejack,” she said confidently. Luna’s ears perked up - that would certainly help!

Rarity didn’t seem quite so confident. “Err, thank you dear, but I really don’t think-”

“Nah, don’t worry about it!” Rainbow Dash said with a grin. “We need to get moving as quickly as possible if we want to have any hope of winning!”

“But, um. . . .” Clearly, Rarity was grasping at straws at this point. “Isn’t Fluttershy’s cottage on the other side of Ponyville from Sweet Apple Acres?”

“What, you don’t think I can make it between the two faster than you can make it from here to Fluttershy’s?” The pegasus seemed to take it as a challenge.

“No, no, it’s not that! It’s just that, well. . . . Flying has not been the grandest of experiences for me recently. I seem to have developed a terrible habit of falling to my death.”

“Oh. Pfft, don’t worry about it! It’s just like riding a train, except a little windier and higher up! Besides, I’m plenty strong enough to carry you. I promise you’ll be perfectly safe the whole time!”

“Yes, we believe Rainbow Dash is plenty able to get thee from here to there without trouble,” Luna added. “And it would be much preferable to get there and back quickly.”

Rarity looked back and forth between the two ponies, Luna giving her an encouraging smile, and Rainbow Dash a confident grin. Finally, she sighed. “Well, alright, if you must. But do be ca-aaauuggghhh!!” Her screech faded away as a cackling Rainbow Dash swept her off her feet and out of the door of Carousel Boutique. Luna gave the sight a single chuckle before exiting the building herself and taking wing. She had a pony of her own to find.

* * *

“Big Mac!”

The stallion looked up at the sound of Applejack’s voice. He frowned. What’s got her so worked up? He then took stock of himself, and frowned even deeper. Why am I on the ground? And . . . why am I blue?!

Big Mac hastily pushed himself up onto all fours. Now that he looked around, he realized that everything was blue, not just himself. The grass, the apple tree he had been laying under, the piles of apples all around said tree, the broken branch lying just past himself. . . . Ah. He must have been bucking the tree, and accidentally hit it hard enough to knock off the branch, which had hit him in the head, thereby knocking him unconscious. That would also explain the headache, and the fact that everything was blue. Must have been some branch to do this to my eyes. He snorted. I just hope it gets cleared up soon. Don’t want to spend the rest of my life colorblind.

“Big Mac!” Applejack’s voice sounded, if possible, even more desperate.

“‘m right here!” he yelled back. Shaking his head - an idea which turned out to be very foolish indeed - he picked up the branch, finding it lighter than expected. Well, that’s just strange. How’d this dinky little thing cause so much damage? He shrugged. In the end, the fact that it was so light only made it easier to carry out of the way. Best get this to the burn pile before somepony trips over it. He started off, only to be interrupted by Applejack galloping through a break in the trees.

“Big Mac! Oh, thank goodness Ah found you!” She seemed strangely out of breath. How long was I out? the stallion wondered. “Come on! Apple Bloom and Granny Smith’re both at the house, waitin’ for us!”

Big Mac gave her a confused look. “What for? And what’s got your saddle in a knot?”

Applejack gaped at him for a full ten seconds, until he finally broke the silence. “Am. . . . Am Ah missing something?” Maybe this branch did even more damage than I thought. I hope it’s not too serious. A visit to the doctor is the last thing I need right now.

Applejack finally shook her head in amazement. “Sweet Celestia, Big Mac. Are yer eyes workin’ okay?”

“Well . . . no, but Ah don’t see how you could know that, seein’ as it just happened.”

She frowned, confused, before realization dawned on her features. She gave Big Mac a sly grin. “Ah don’t suppose yer eyes are making everything blue, are they?”

Big Mac frowned. “Yeah. How did you-?”

She walked up and hit him on the head, causing him to wince slightly. “That’s not yer eyes, ya dope! Look at the sun!”

“Oh.” Big Mac did so, shielding his eyes with one hoof. Not that it helped, or that there was anything to help - the sun seemed somewhat more dull than usual. Not to mention the new colors. . . . “Oh.”

“Yeah!” Applejack shook her head at him one more time. “Alright, now that we’re all on the same page, let’s get back to the house and figure out what we’re gonna do now!”

“Hang on! AJ!”

“Huh?” Applejack turned to see a many-hued blue streak heading straight for them. “What in tarnation. . . ?”

“I think. . . .” Big Mac squinted at the approaching blur. If everything is blue, then. . . . His guess was proven true when the thing landed in front of the two farm ponies, resolving itself into a blue version of a familiar pegasus. “Eeyup.”

“Rainbow Dash?” Applejack asked. The pegasus was breathing heavily, and sweat was practically pouring off her body.

“No time . . . to talk. . . ,” she gasped in between breaths. “Whew! Just flew Rarity . . . all the way to . . . Fluttershy’s . . . then . . . came straight here. Full speed.” She looked at Applejack. “Never . . . doing that again.”

Applejack chuckled. “Alright, Rainbow. But what’s the rush?” She glanced up at the sun, as if checking to make sure it was still there. “Does it have something to do with that?”

Rainbow nodded, not trusting herself to speak anymore. When she had caught her breath, she continued. “Luna’s here. She knows what’s going on, but we’re getting the Elements together first. Come on, we gotta get to the library!” She ruffled her wings, already as ready to run as if she hadn’t just been completely out of breath a couple seconds ago.

Applejack nodded, then turned to her brother. “Big Mac, head back to the house. Keep Apple Bloom and Granny Smith safe. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Big Mac nodded, and she turned back to Rainbow Dash. “Alright, let’s get going, then!” The two took off running in the direction of Ponyville.

Big Mac watched them go, the hint of a smile on his features. A born leader, Applejack was. He gave his head a shake - and was promptly reminded that the only thing the branch hadn’t caused was the blue vision. He groaned. Gotta remember not to do that.

He glanced up at the sun again. It was still just as colorful as the last time he had looked. The inside parts, the blue and purple of the rainbow, seemed much more dull and easy to look at than the fiery outermost ring. As he looked even closer, he realized that there was no true line between the colors. Purple just seemed to fade into blue, which in turn faded into green, and yellow, and. . . .

At this point, he became aware of a dull ache in his eyes. He quickly tore his eyes away from the hypnotic gaze of the sun. Stupid! Looking at the sun is a bad idea on any day. Why would now be any different? He quickly set off towards the house. I’d better get inside before I cause myself some actual eye damage.

* * *

Rarity sighed as she trotted down Ponyville’s Mane Street. “It’s so drab. Where’s the joy, the laughter, the inspiration? Blue is such a depressing color. Couldn’t it at least be pink, or green, or yellow?”

Fluttershy followed behind her, keeping to the side of the street and watching everything nervously. Rarity had found her in the living room, with all the windows and doors closed, and a veritable forest’s worth of animals. It had taken some time, but Rarity had been able to extricate her from the mass of fur and coax her out of the house. Getting her to stop worrying, however, had been a completely different thing. “Y-yes, yellow would have been nice,” the pegasus said quietly. Rarity sighed inwardly. Ah, well. At least we’re moving. Perhaps she’ll feel safer when we’ve got everypony together.

Aloud, she laughed jovially. “Oh, yes, I’m sure you would love yellow. With your coat, you’d be the brightest pony in town!” She flashed a grin Fluttershy’s way, to find the pegasus staring back at her in mild terror. “Oh, I’m just kidding, darling. I’m sure you would fit in just fine in a world of yellow.” Not. The purest blues here seem to almost be shining here. I would assume it’s the same for yellow in yellow. Still, it got the mare to calm down somewhat. She turned her gaze forward again, sighing wistfully. “Still, this will cause huge changes in fashion, what with blue being the only color. I’ll have to redesign everything from the ground up.”

“Oh my,” Fluttershy said. “What about all the dresses you’ve made before?”

Rarity frowned. “I suppose I’ll have to scrap them. They all look so dull now that they’re hardly worth keeping.” Fluttershy gasped, cutely. Rarity smiled to herself. Everything she does is cute. It’s ridiculous! She turned to her companion, still smiling. “Oh, don’t worry, dear. A dress is only good as long as it can stand to be used. All of mine are practically worthless at this point.” Still. . . . She frowned as images of all her beautiful creations flashed through her head. Could she really just coldly scrap them? “Although, maybe I’ll keep just a couple. For posterity’s sake.”

They walked on in silence for a while, each consumed in their own thoughts. Rarity couldn’t help but subtly glance at her companion every couple minutes in worry. I hope she’s alright. Sure, she acted alright, but Rarity had known Fluttershy for years. She was far too likely to just repress anything too . . . traumatic for the sake of those around her. Rarity didn’t know how she did it. She’s far stronger than anypony gives her credit for.

She sighed inwardly. I’ve done what I can for the moment. She’ll be perfectly fine once we’ve gotten this whole mess cleared up. Still, she didn’t stop glancing at the pegasus.

In all honesty, she was probably just as scared as the pegasus. The sun had no right to be a color besides its normal yellow, nor to cast the world in just blue despite being an entire rainbow of colors. She couldn’t imagine any reason that Princess Celestia would allow such a thing to happen. It was likely causing mass chaos across all of Equestria, and perhaps even the world. The Princess would never do that. This fact and Princess Luna’s earlier words led Rarity to fear the worst.

And Luna expects us to be able to do something about it? Rarity wondered. The sun’s color is hardly the kind of thing the Elements of Harmony can affect. Unless it’s Celestia herself who is the problem, I don’t see what we could do. Her heart lurched as she thought that over. What if Princess Celestia is somehow the cause for all this? What will we do then? Oh, Twilight will be devastated.

“Um, Rarity?” Rarity came out of her thoughts to find Fluttershy walking practically next to her, and looking around with interest. She was still shaking somewhat, but more importantly, she was in direct sunlight. I knew she would feel better with time, Rarity thought with a smile.

“Yes, dear?” she asked.

“Where is everypony?”

“Inside, I’d wager,” she muttered, looking around. “This is quite a change to be dealing with.” Her companion frowned. Rarity glanced over at her. “Something the matter?”

“N-no, nothing like that,” she replied. “I’m just confused. I didn’t expect everypony to be so. . . . So. . . .”

“Scared?” At Fluttershy’s timid nod, Rarity chuckled. “You’re not alone in being worried, dear.”

“I know, I just-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Rarity interrupted with a gentle smile. She waited for Fluttershy to nod thankfully before continuing. “You remember how we all reacted to Zecora the first few times she came to town? I suspect this is the same kind of situation. We Ponyvilleans do have a flair for overreacting.” She chuckled. “I’m sure it won’t last long. We’ll probably see ponies out and about again before the day is done.”

Even as she spoke, a door opened and the red mane and white head of Roseluck peeked out. She looked around for a moment before her gaze settled on Rarity and Fluttershy. She gasped. “You two should get inside, quick! Who knows what that light could be doing to you right now!”

Rarity smiled. “Don’t worry, it’s safe!” she called back.

“R-really?”

“Would we be standing here if it wasn’t?”

“Oh. . . .” Roseluck glanced up at the sun nervously. “I guess that’s true.” Suddenly, terror dawned on her face. “Which means I’m late for my spa appointment! Gotta go!” She shot off down the street, completely forgetting to close the door behind her.

“See?” Rarity asked Fluttershy as she magicked the door closed. “Ponyville will be back to normal again in no time.”

Fluttershy smiled. “That’s good.”

Rarity nudged her, winking. “Bet it was fun to be the brave pony for a while.” That got a laugh out of the pegasus. Rarity laughed too, more out of happiness that Fluttershy had regained her calm than anything else. As for herself. . . . I will be fine. I must be fine. Somepony needs to carry a brave face for everypony else.

As their laughter petered out, Rarity looked up. “Ah, we’re here,” she said, nodding towards the library just ahead. They trotted quickly to the door. Rarity pushed it open and they stepped into chaos.

It seemed they were the last group to arrive. Not surprising, considering that they had walked from Fluttershy’s cottage. Princess Luna was the first to notice them. She sat on a nearby couch, eyes closed, blatantly ignoring Rainbow Dash’s attempts to get some information out of her. At the sound of the door, she opened her eyes and glanced at the newcomers. Then, nodding once, she stood up, cutting off Rainbow Dash mid-sentence, and cleared her throat.

Applejack immediately turned to the Princess, but it was likely only that that stopped Pinkie Pie from speaking. She had been hopping in one place, giving her listener a monologue that seemed to be loosely oriented on the new color of the world. Rarity shuddered to put that in context with her cheerful tone. How can anypony possibly consider this good?

Twilight didn’t even blink at Luna’s movement. She stood at the back of the library with Spike, dictating something to him. As everypony else stopped speaking, her final words became clearly audible. “‘. . . Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle.’ Alright, send it, Spike.” As the dragon rolled up the paper and breathed his fire on it, Twilight finally turned to find Luna staring at her. “What?”

“You have contacted Celestia, we presume?”

“Of course I did,” Twilight said. She seemed to wilt under the alicorn’s stare. “W-was that wrong?”

Luna stared at her for a moment more before sighing heavily. “In the end, it matters not, although we wish you hadn’t. No, don’t apologize-” she held up a hoof to forestall Twilight’s words. “What is done is done. We shall see what her answer is. For now, we - I must explain.” She turned to look at each pony and dragon in turn. “Listen well, Elements of Harmony. Once again, you six are our only hope.”

Author's Note

Thanks to Key Strix for editing!

Chapter 2: The Gathering of the Elements

Chapter 2: The Gathering of the Elements

Silence reigned in the Ponyville Library.

Six ponies and a dragon stared at their Princess, shock painted on each of their faces. The Princess stood gravely before them, having just finished her tale. Nopony moved. The blue light filtered in from the library windows, and each inhabitant of the room - Princess excluded - now shied away from where it landed.

Twilight was on the verge of a mental breakdown. “But . . . how? Princess Celestia? Why would she do that?” Her brow furrowed as she tried to wrap her head around the idea that Princess Celestia, her mentor and the calmest, most rational pony in Equestria, would free Discord. This has to be some sort of joke. She looked to Princess Luna, pleading her for an explanation.

In response, Princess Luna shook her head. “We do not know what has caused her to act like this, but we suspect that Discord’s own magic was involved.”

“But how did he manage to cast a spell on her while he was trapped in stone?” Twilight began pacing frantically, unaware of the eyes of her friends as they all watched her nervously. Spike even reached out a claw to comfort her, but she barely even registered the contact before breaking away from it and continuing her pacing. “You said that he was using magic before he was fully free, so maybe he cast it after she started to free him. but what about before then? He can’t have been using magic before then, it’s impossible!” She was hyperventilating at this point.

“Twilight, darling, do calm down,” Rarity said. “I’m sure there’s a perfectly logical reason for this.”

“Logical? Logical?!” Twilight screeched. “This is Discord we’re talking about! Nothing is logical where Discord is involved!”

“Well, then I think that should very well explain how he was using magic while trapped in stone.”

“But that was caused by the Elements of Harmony,” Applejack said with a frown. “I reckon those’d be the only things that could hold him in one place.”

“Exactly!”

“But they’ve been used twice on him!” Rainbow Dash interjected. “This is Discord we’re talking about. He must’ve found a way around them!” Her words brought silence again to the group, until Princess Luna shook her head.

“No. We have felt the power of Harmony ourselves. It is not order; it twists around its focus, immediately adapting to any attempt to break free. Even Discord’s power could not have escaped from that.” She gave a defeated sigh. “Though we hate to admit it, he must have had help.” This elicited a moan of despair from Twilight, who collapsed onto the ground, sinking her head into her hooves. She felt Spike’s claw touch her back, and she welcomed the contact. Princess Celestia. . . . Why? From somewhere about her, Rainbow Dash’s angry voice filled the silence.

“How can you say that?! You know Celestia! She’d never break out a creep like Discord! Besides, you said she turned gray. That only happens when Discord is involved!” Twilight looked up to find her friend hovering a few feet in the air with her forelegs crossed, frowning at them all. “I don’t care how he did it, or what his prison was. This was Discord’s fault, not Celestia’s, and nopony can convince me otherwise!”

Again, the room was silent as each pony absorbed Rainbow’s words. Twilight felt her heart lift. She’s right. This is completely unlike the Princess. It’s too impulsive. At the very least, if she were going to release Discord, she would have told us so we could stop him if we had to. No, there’s definitely an explanation for this, and I intend to find out what it is.

This time, Fluttershy was next to speak. “I-I agree with Rainbow Dash. Princess Celestia would never do something like let that meanie go free.” She smiled at Rainbow Dash’s thankful nod.

“Yes.” Luna nodded decisively. “We know our sister. Celestia would never say what she said to me. Not without outside influence.”

Twilight sighed in agreement. “I guess I overreacted a little. I should know the Princess better than that.” She frowned. “Still, though. . . . What if it was just her?”

“Don’t worry ‘bout it, sugarcube,” Applejack said with a grin. “No point in gettin’ our tails in a twist over something that ain’t even true. What we really need to do is figure out what to do about all this.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash said, pumping her fist in the air. “Time to get to the-” She was interrupted by a belch of green flame from Spike, out of which a scroll materialized. Twilight immediately snatched it out of the air, her expression a mixture of worried and anxious.

“Not just yet, I think,” Rarity said, looking at the scroll like it was a poisonous snake.

“Remember, everypony,” Luna said, “whatever the cause for my sister’s decision to free Discord, she is well and truly under his spell now. These will not be Celestia’s words so much as a pale imitation of them.” Twilight nodded, her face hardening as she began to read, everypony else crowding around her so they could see it, as well.

Twilight! So good to hear from you! I was just thinking about you. It’s been so long since we got together and had some fun. I’ve been thinking about that a lot recently. Fun. You know it’s been centuries since I relaxed? It’s been nonstop work almost since I banished Luna. Well, not anymore! I intend to have plenty of fun from now on. I’d be delighted if you were willing to join me for it.

Now, on to the content of your letter. I don’t think my sun’s new color - or should I say colors - is anything to worry about. It certainly looks nice, and it was picked out by a friend very dear to my heart. Don’t worry, I’m sure it won’t cause any lasting problems. I won’t even try to keep it up all the time. However much of a party pooper Lulu is, I wouldn’t dream of taking her night away from her. Speaking of Lulu, tell her I said she’s missing out!

I’m afraid I’m out of time. Discord and I have an exciting day (and night) planned. Like I said, you’re welcome to join us at any time!

Your loving mentor, Princess Celestia. The letter was shaking in Twilight’s magical grip by the time she had finished. She didn’t look up from the page. Princess. . . .

“Truly, this is as bad as we feared,” Luna said softly after a moment.

“That doesn’t sound like the Princess at all,” Fluttershy agreed.

“We have to stop him,” Rainbow Dash said, her voice shaking with anger.

Twilight agreed. This was not the pony under whose tutelage she had spent her childhood. It sounded like her, and the hoofwriting was hers, but it wasn’t her words. She sounds like she doesn’t even care if she sends all of Equestria spiraling into destruction. Right now, she probably doesn’t. Her gaze turned to the window. Though the curtains were closed at the moment, some blue light still filtered in. I’ll save you, Princess. Discord won’t be corrupting you for long.

Twilight tore her gaze from the paper, determination evident in her eyes. “We need to get the Elements of Harmony from the castle, but I don’t know how to open the vault without Celestia’s help. Unless you can open it, Princess.” She turned to look at the Princess pleadingly.

Luna nodded. “We can. However, it will be neigh impossible to get to the vault with both Celestia and Discord in the castle. It is in arguably the deepest part of the castle save those that are actually underground, and it is guarded constantly and thoroughly. It will be most difficult to get there undetected. We’ll have to assume that some of the guards will still be loyal to Celestia, with instructions to stop us.”

"So let's just bust our way in!" Rainbow exclaimed. She began swinging her hooves as if fighting invisible enemies. "Bam, bam! They'll never even stand a chance!"

"Yeah," Applejack said dryly, "but what if we run into Discord, or the Princess?"

"Uh. . . . Well. . . ."

"I must agree with Applejack," Rarity said. "We are no match for either of them without the Elements of Harmony." She considered the situation for a moment. "Although, you do have a point in that the guards will not be a problem, especially with Princess Luna on our side."

"Yeah! So let's go in through a window or something, kick some flank, get the Elements, and kick some more flank!"

". . . that is a remarkably sound plan," Luna said. Rainbow Dash grinned at the compliment.

"Hay yeah, it is!"

"We'll still have to get past the hedge maze, though," Twilight pointed out. At her friends' confused glances, she elaborated, "that's where the window is, remember?"

"Ah'm sure that'll be right simple," Applejack said confidently. "Long as Discord don't separate us again, that is. . . ."

Rarity gave her a flat look. "Why don't we all just agree that running into Discord at any point will be disastrous?" Her words were met with a chorus of nods. She smiled. "Excellent. Now, to sum all this up . . . we will enter through the hedge maze, correct?"

Luna nodded. "We know of a hidden passageway through the outer walls, which will get us to the maze itself. From there, we must simply navigate the hedges."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Twilight piped up. "I spent a lot of time in the maze while I lived in the castle. Unless it's been reorganized since then, I should be able to get us through there."

"And these babies will get us out of anything you can't," Rainbow Dash added, nodding at her wings.

Rarity nodded, smiling slightly. "So the maze will not be a problem. After that, we go through a window into the vault room?"

"Yep!" Rainbow Dash nodded. "Then we take out the guard ponies, Luna unlocks the vault, and we all go and take down Discord!"

"Does anypony have any objections to this?" Rarity asked, now smiling widely.

"Um, could we try not to hurt the guards too much?" Fluttershy asked. "It's not their fault Discord is free, after all."

Rainbow Dash groaned. "They're the bad guys, Flutters! We have to beat them! That's the coolest part!"

"But they're just ponies," Fluttershy argued. "How would you feel if you were in their place?"

"We think you will find that the Royal Guard is somewhat better trained than the average pony," Luna said, a smile playing on her lips. "However, if it pleases you, Fluttershy, we promise that no guard will be unduly harmed." Fluttershy smiled her thanks at the Princess, while Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves sullenly.

Rarity frowned at them all. "I trust nopony has an objection beyond that?" When nopony spoke, she held out a hoof. "Well, then it's settled. I suggest we leave tonight, after dark.” Each pony placed a hoof on top of hers, until there were six hooves in the pile.

Wait. Six?

Twilight frowned, counting through everypony. Luna, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and herself. . . . Who was - ah! She looked around the room, and found Pinkie sitting in exactly the same position she had been in five minutes ago with a blank expression on her face. She frowned; of all ponies, Pinkie was the one to not be moving? Twilight removed her hoof from the pile and walked over to the motionless mare, causing the rest of the group to look as well.

“Pinkie?”

* * *

Pinkie Pie wasn’t paying attention. She hadn’t been for some time. In all the chaos of Luna’s tale and the ensuing argument, nopony had even noticed that her mind was miles away, fully occupied by another being.

Discord.

As Luna began to speak, Pinkie heard another sound, that of . . . humming? She turned curiously, and found the draconequus casually entering the library through the front door, whistling a jaunty tune. As Pinkie watched, he removed a lengthy purple cape and hung it absently on the wall as he walked further into the building, looking around unconcernedly. “The Ponyville Library,” he said, looking around. “As quaint as always, I see.” His eyes caught sight of Pinkie glaring at him, apparently ready to pounce. “Ah, hello Pinkie Pie! Fancy meeting you here!”

“Discord!” Pinkie growled. “So you’re behind all this!”

“Well, of course!” Discord materialized a chair as he spoke. He sat down in it with a cocky grin. “Did you think I was just going to cause chaos for a few days and then let the Elements lock me away again? I’ve got things to do, places to see, ponies to mess with!”

“We won’t let you get away with it!” Pinkie shouted, conveniently ignoring the fact that she had no idea what ‘it’ was. “Right, girls?” There was no response. Startled, Pinkie looked around, and discovered herself standing alone. “Girls?” She turned and found them still sitting in the same positions she had left them in. Princess Luna was still talking - though the sound was now somewhat muted - and the other seven were sitting in a hemisphere across from her, listening attentively. Not a single one had so much as twitched when Discord had entered.

Glaring, Pinkie rounded on Discord again. “What did you do to my friends?!”

Discord waved a claw dismissively. “Nothing at all!” He paused thoughtfully. “At least, I didn’t hurt them. I may or may not have spatially displaced them and created an illusionary Pinkie Pie so they won’t notice you’re gone.”

Pinkie frowned in confusion at his response, a reaction which made Discord grin widely. spatially dis-what? She shook her head before glaring again at Discord’s leering face. He’s trying to distract you. Stay focused, Pinkie! Eyes on the prize! “Why are you here?” she demanded.

“Ah!” Discord exclaimed gleefully, all but leaping out of his chair. “We finally get to the meat of the conversation! Here, take a seat.” He conjured up a chair directly under Pinkie, causing her to leap off her new seat with a yelp. Discord laughed uproariously as she turned angrily and jumped at him, intending to pin him down.

In response, the draconequus merely snapped his fingers, and Pinkie found herself suddenly neck-deep in a cushion of marshmallow. Unable to help herself, she stuck out her tongue and licked it experimentally. It was delicious.

In about two bites, it was also gone. Pinkie lifted her head to find Discord mid-sentence. “. . . Was just like you when I was younger. Well, like you but more handsome. No offense. But we are very similar, you and I, eh?”

“I’m nothing like you!” Pinkie said defiantly, standing up tall.

“Oh?”

“Yeah! You’re a big mean meany-pants! You tried to make me and my friends hate each other! I would never do that!”

“Yes, those were some of my better pranks,” Discord said with a grin. “I think I got Rarity best, don’t you? What was it she named that rock? Tom?”

Pinkie couldn’t help but giggle a little at the memory. Seeing Rarity carry a rock bigger than her the entire way back from Canterlot had been funny. . . . She shook herself, realizing what she was thinking. “Rarity was complaining for weeks afterwards about her back!” She threw another glare at Discord, who frowned. “And what about all my other friends? Making Rainbow Dash leave all of us wasn’t nice at all! And Fluttershy was being so mean. . . . Those pranks went too far!”

“Well, I had to do something! You would’ve sent me straight back to stone if I hadn’t!” That brought Pinkie up short. She thought back, and realized that it was true. If Discord hadn’t split them up, they would done exactly as Princess Celestia asked and used the Elements of Harmony on Discord without even giving him a chance. That wouldn’t have been nice either. . . . “I’d been trapped for over a thousand years, Pinkie. Did you really think I wanted to go back?”

“But my friends. . . ,” Pinkie said weakly.

“Yes, I’ll admit that I could have been nicer about stopping you,” Discord said. He sat back down in his chair again, leaning forward to stare intently at Pinkie. “But I had to think quickly. So I took the Elements, and then everything just sort of snowballed from there. By the time you were in the maze, that was the best way I could think of to stop you.” He sighed. “I really didn’t want to hurt you.”

Pinkie looked at Discord’s sorrowful expression, and felt the last of her anger leave her. I never even thought about it. We were the real meanies. Discord was just trying to protect himself, wasn’t he? She stood and walked over to the draconequus, holding a hoof out to him. “I’m sorry, Discord,” she said solemnly. “We never meant to hurt you.”

“Try getting your friends to say that,” he said, but he shook the proffered hoof anyways. “Thank you, Pinkie Pie. I knew you of all ponies would believe me.”

Pinkie smiled. “So, why are you here?” she asked, cocking her head slightly.

“Oh!” Suddenly Discord’s grin was back in full force. “I nearly forgot! I was looking for you, Pinkie!” He pointed at her dramatically. “I wanted to know if you would be willing to become my new Chaos Apprentice!”

“Chaos Apprentice?” Pinkie asked, frowning.

“Chaos Apprentice! Great title, huh? I came up with it just before I got here.” He winked before continuing. “As Her Mooniness over there was just saying, I got Celestia to free me today. So, obviously, I’ve spent all day with her. And as we all know, she has a student.” He pointed in the general direction of Twilight. “So I got to thinking, and I realized that I could have a student, too! An Element of Harmony, even! And so here I am.”

“But . . . why me?” Pinkie asked, frowning.

“Well, your Element, for one thing,” Discord replied, and suddenly he was right next to her, kneeling down to place an arm on her back. “Like I said the first time we met, Laughter is my personal favorite Element. I love a good laugh as much as the next Draconequus.” He grinned, and Pinkie couldn’t help but grin back. Then he was walking away from her again. “But more importantly, it’s your Pinkie Sense that interests me. Unless I’m mistaken, your ability to predict future events is a sign of being able to use my own chaos magic.”

“Really?” Pinkie gasped. “My Pinkie Sense? Does this mean I can make my own cotton candy clouds?”

“It’s chaos magic,” Discord said with a shrug. “There’s no telling what will happen.”

“Wow. . . .” Pinkie sat down hard, her mind reeling as she thought of the possibilities. “I could be the best prankster in Ponyville! No wait, in Equestria! No wait, in the whole world!”

“And I can teach you everything I know,” Discord said. “So what do you say? Will you join me?”

“Yes!” Then she paused. “Wait. Can I bring my friends?”

“Well, I can’t teach them how to use this magic,” he said thoughtfully, “but if they want to join you, then by all means. You should know, though, that good ol’ Luna over there just spent the last five minutes telling them that I’m evil and can’t be trusted.”

Pinkie looked back at the other group in the library. They were sitting in a smaller circle now, with the illusion of Pinkie sitting a little back, having not moved since Discord had appeared. At the moment, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were talking rather heatedly about something that Pinkie couldn’t quite make out. Luna quickly stepped in and they calmed down, though Rainbow Dash pouted. She giggled. “Silly, you don’t have to worry about that. I’m their friend. They know I wouldn’t lie to them!”

Discord chuckled at that. “Oh, I think you’d be surprised.” Ignoring Pinkie’s affronted look, he continued, “oh, looks like they noticed your body. Time for you to go.” He snapped his claws.

“My body?” was all she had the time to say before she felt herself being pulled back towards where the “illusion” was still sitting, surrounded by all her closest friends.

* * *

“Pinkie?” Twilight called again, waving her hoof in front of the unresponsive mare’s face. “Hello? Anypony home?” Everypony else crowded around the two of them, watching anxiously as Twilight tried to get a response from Pinkie. Luna hung back just slightly, trying to look aloof without losing sight of the pony.

“Pinkie, are you in there?” This time, a response came in the form of a groan and a head shake. Pinkie blinked rapidly for a couple seconds before looking around at the ponies crowding around her.

“Oh, hi girls!” she said with a huge grin, instantly back to her overjoyous self. “You won’t believe what just happened! Or, did it happen? Maybe it was just a daydream. It tasted so real, though. . . .” She stopped to think about it.

“Taste?” Twilight wondered.

“Mm-hmm!” Pinkie giggled. “It was a good marshmallow.”

“What happened, dear?” Rarity asked after a moment of silence. Luna couldn’t help but lean forward curiously, although she was certain she wouldn’t like the answer. Not to mention that she now had to repeat her entire explanation.

“Don’t tell me you learned to sleep with your eyes open. That’s just creepy,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Welllllll. . . .” She looked around the group. “You all have to promise not to freak out, ok?”

That doesn’t sound good, Luna thought. Still, she nodded with the rest, though she decided to reserve judgment on whether or not to keep that promise.

Pinkie gave each of them a bug-eyed stare before continuing. “Ok, so I heard the door open while Princess Luna was talking, which was weird because why would somepony be coming into the library right now? I mean, maybe they were just looking for a book, but why would anypony be out and about right now just for a book? So I looked over there, and guess who I saw walking in?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Discord!”

Everypony gasped, Luna loudest of all. Discord was here? How? What did he do?! Her eyes darted wildly around the room before settling on Pinkie. But she wasn’t turning gray. Discord’s magic always turned ponies gray.

A couple seconds later, she realized the stupidity of that thought.

“. . . And just sat down, and so I was like - whoa!” With disturbing agility, Pinkie leapt out of the way of the bolt from Luna’s horn. “Princess, you promised!”

“Yes, and so we are sorry for this,” Luna said, readying another spell. “However, if Discord’s magic has touched thee, then we cannot guarantee that thou art well. Now just stay still-” she grunted as another bolt missed “-this won’t hurt a bit.”

Pinkie dodged yet another bolt, and before Luna could get a fourth off, a flash of cyan crashed into her, sending her to the ground with a crash.

“Rainbow Dash, stay back!” Luna growled, struggling to stand.

“I won’t let you hurt her!” Rainbow dash growled back, trying to hold her down.

“This won’t hurt her! It will just end any influence Discord may have had on her!”

Rainbow was silent for a moment, before growling, “if you’re lying. . . .” She stared into Luna’s eyes for a moment before letting her up.

I am not lying, Rainbow Dash. But pray that Pinkie Pie does not truly believe what she says. She stood and looked around the room. Rainbow Dash was watching her warily from a few feet away. Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Spike were all watching her nervously. They had spread out some when the blasts had started firing. As for Pinkie. . . .

Pinkie was nowhere to be seen.

Luna looked to the quickly closing door, then turned to Rainbow Dash. “Whatever I intend, we must at least find her.”

Rainbow nodded. “She’ll probably go to Sugarcube Corner first.”

Luna nodded, then headed towards the door, and out into the blue-hued day of Ponyville.

Author's Note

Thanks again to Key Strix for editing!