Harmony's Peril

"It has to be Discord. I'm sorry Fluttershy but it's the most rational explanation." Twilight stated flatly as they walked back through the forest. She lit her horn to show the way, making up for the sunlight blocked by the thick tree canopy above them.

Fluttershy looked annoyed, a rare expression for the normally timid pegasus. "Oh you never give him a chance Twilight. Even after he risked his life to save us from the changelings, you still accuse him as soon as something goes wrong."

"Twilight's right Fluttershy. He did this sort of thing before. Remember the plunderseeds?!" Rainbow argued.

"Not ta mention the cloven hooves!" Applejack added.

"And he's one of the few beings that has enough power to steal the Elements from the Tree of Harmony." Starlight pointed out. "I hate to say it Fluttershy but it all fits."

"But he planted the plunderseeds ages ago!" Fluttershy cried. "I know Discord has done bad things before, but he wouldn't go as far as poisoning the forest. Even before he was reformed he never did anything like that."

"He's the Spirit of Chaos, he's not loyal to anything or anyone. That's just his nature." Twilight looked up and noticed that the tree canopy was beginning to thin out, however it was still as dark as ever. Odd. Late afternoon sunlight should've been filtering through the branches, lighting their way. It couldn't be night yet, they had only been gone for two hours at most.

"That's harsh Twilight and you know it." Fluttershy look away sadly. Everypony groaned. Nopony could understand why Fluttershy so staunchly defended Discord, in the face of his constant trickery. Twilight didn't want to believe he had done something this severe, but she couldn't put it past him.

"I can see that tensions are running high, but I must direct your attention to the sky." Zecora pointed a hoof. Twilight saw that they had finally made their way out of the forest, but it was still pitch black outside. She looked up at the sky, searching for the sun. In place of Celestia's warm glowing sun, was a darkened circle ringed by red energy. The entire sky was pitch black, with not a star to be seen.

"Something darkened the sun?!" Rarity cried. Everypony shook with fear. In the distance Twilight heard screams and shouts coming from Ponyville as the townspeople panicked at the loss of the sun. She just hoped the mayor could calm everyone down before things got out of hand.

"If the sun stays like that, all hay'll break loose!" Applejack exclaimed worriedly.

"Brrr. Wish we had sweaters..." Pinkie Pie said chattering her teeth and hugging herself with her forehooves. They all shivered in the chilly air. Without the Sun's warmth, the air temperature was already beginning to drop.

Starlight shivered. "If something's wrong with the sun, something must be wrong with Princess Celestia as well, and I'm willing to bet Princess Luna didn't fare much better."

"This is just like last time! I'll bet Discord has kidnapped Princess Celestia and Luna, just like his plunderseeds did before!" Twilight yelled angrily. Fluttershy looked at the ground, unsure what to say. No doubt her friend didn't want to believe it, but she couldn't deny anymore that this looked like Discord's doing.

"So... what do we do?" Spike asked cautiously.

Fluttershy looked up with a determined expression. "We summon him. If he did do this, he's going to set things right so help me. If he didn't... then maybe he can still help us."

Twilight nodded in agreement. "Spike, Starlight, Zecora: stand back. This is a very powerful spell and it has to be done precisely."

The three non-elements backed up, and everypony else gathered in a circle. Before they could begin, Starlight raised a hoof. "Are you sure summoning Discord is a good idea? I mean if he really is behind all this, we don't have the Elements to stop him. For all we know he could've hidden them in some other dimension!"

"If he did this, he'll have to deal with me." Twilight briefly glowed with magic, causing everypony to step back. She didn't like displaying her power as an alicorn, but Twilight felt that Discord had gone one step too far this time.

"And me." Fluttershy sighed sadly. Twilight knew if there was anyone Discord would listen to, it was her.

"Ooh ooh and me!" Pinkie bounced up and down excitedly, seeming to forget the cold for a moment. With each bounce the ground seemed to crack a little bit without explanation.

"Let's do this!" Rainbow smacked her hooves together as if ready for a fight. Rarity and Applejack grimly nodded their acquiescence.

The six former element bearers gathered in a circle, holding each other's hooves and closing their eyes tightly. Twilight channeled her magic into the summoning spell, willing Discord to appear before them. A rainbow light spread from her horn and encircled her five friends, spinning concentrically. Then something changed. There was a white flash, and Twilight felt the magic move in reverse. She felt herself being lifted off her hooves and beginning to disappear. Twilight frantically opened her eyes and saw a bright white light engulf her.

BANG! Twilight and her friends found themselves on a blue tiled floor, looking up at an elegant but darkly lit room. Shadows played at the corners of the decorated room, giving it an eerie feel.

"Where are we?" Applejack asked wide eyed. "And where are the others?" Twilight saw that she was right. Starlight, Spike and Zecora had been left behind.

"The spell wasn't teleportation, it was summoning. It shouldn't have taken us here... wherever 'here' is. This doesn't make sense!" Twilight explained.

She was about to continue rationalizing what happened when two yellow eyes with red pupils blinked open in the shadows. There was a familiar dark chuckle. "Make sense? Oh what fun is there in making sense?"

"Discord." Twilight said slightly awed. "What did you do!?"

"Simple. I reversed your summoning spell so it would take you to me instead of me to you. It almost does make sense if you think about it." Discord flashed a toothy grin in the darkness.

"NO it doesn't! That shouldn't even be possible!" Twilight yelled.

Discord laughed. "Oh Twilight, Chaos wouldn't be Chaos if it was possible and predictable!"

"Enough games!" Rainbow yelled. "You poisoned the Everfree forest!"

"And what did ya do with the Princesses?!" Applejack asked angrily.

"Is it just me or am I getting a sense of deja vu?" Discord said thoughtfully. "I assure you I am neither directly nor indirectly responsible for what happened to the forest. And as for your Princesses... I used the last of my magic to bring you here at their request." Discord went into a coughing fit.

"Wait, the last of your magic?" Twilight asked.

"In fact, I am feeling a bit... faint." Discord stumbled into the light and collapsed to the ground. His normally multi-colored body was a dark shade of black. He was breathing heavily and wheezing.

"Discord!" Fluttershy began to gallop forward but was stopped by Twilight.

"Wait Fluttershy! He's faked sick before. This could all be some trick to get us to lower our defenses." Twilight cautioned.

"I'm afraid it is no trick my little ponies." The door to room opened, flooding the place with light from the lamps beyond. Princess Celestia and Luna strode in looking grim. Twilight gasped as she saw that they were both the same shade of black as Discord, who seemed to be fast asleep on the floor.

"P-Princess you're-" Twilight began. Princess Celestia held up a hoof for silence.

"I'm sure you have many questions... but perhaps it is best if we let Discord rest." In the new light, Twilight saw that they were in a small guest bedroom, with several goofy looking pictures of Discord hanging from the walls. Fluttershy gently lifted Discord and tucked him into bed, trying her best to make him comfortable.

Princess Luna waved a hoof. "Come, let us discuss these matters elsewhere." They followed the princesses to a small lounge, where tea and snack were already laid out.

"I hope Spikeywikey isn't worried about us." Rarity fretted quietly.

"I have already sent a message to Spike. He is to gather anyone willing to help and assist Mayor Mare in calming Ponyville. The darkened sun is no doubt causing a large panic." Princess Celestia said. Twilight couldn't help but be amazed at her mentor's foresight. Despite her own ailment, she had calmly delegated the appropriate tasks to the appropriate ponies to deal with the crisis. Rarity seemed to be thinking something else, as she turned slightly red at Celestia hearing her affectionate name for Spike.

"Already the larger cities have gone into lockdown." Princess Luna explained. "There are riots in Manehatten, Fillydelphia and Baltimare over the loss of the sun. The royal guard and police forces are barely able to keep things in check. Meanwhile Cadence and Shining Armor are trying their best to hold the Crystal Empire together, and keep the Crystal Heart functioning among the panic."

"But why did the sun go dark and why did you turn black?" Rainbow asked bluntly.

Celestia sighed. "Our best guess is that something terrible has happened to the Tree of Harmony."

"Darn right something terrible has happened. Somepony poisoned it!" Applejack said.

"I get why that would cause the forest to start dying, and Twilight's castle to become corrupted, but why would it make Discord sick... or darken the sun?" Rarity asked.

"Connections." Twilight realized.

"Indeed." Celestia agreed. "You see, Equestria operates on a delicate balance. Harmony, Chaos, the Sun and the Moon are all connected. They work together to keep our land sustained. But if the Tree of Harmony has been poisoned..."

"Then it affects the balance." Twilight finished. "So because the tree is sick, it made Discord sick too?"

"Yes. As the Spirit of Chaos, Discord is forever locked in a balance with the tree, and is thus deeply connected to it. Our connection through the Sun and Moon isn't as strong, but soon I'm afraid we will also fall unconscious as he did. Already our powers are weakened so we cannot use our magic." Celestia explained.

"I told you Discord was innocent." Fluttershy crossed her hooves.

"But when Discord's plunderseed vines took over the forest and attacked the tree, he didn't seem sick at all!" Twilight protested.

"I believe that we are dealing with something very different here." Celestia countered. "Discord's vines were merely suppressing the magic of Harmony, thus turning the balance in the favor of Chaos. Capturing us was something the vines did on their own, as Discord had foolishly given them their own will. This poison seems to be far more sinister. It is a direct attack on Harmony, slowly destroying the tree and its magic."

"I do not understand something." Luna said. "The tree is most of all connected to the Elements of Harmony. They should have protected it from any poison. And furthermore, if the tree was affected... why weren't any of you affected through your connection to it?"

"The meanie who poisoned the tree, also stole our elements!" Pinkie said angrily.

Luna put a hoof to her chin. "Whoever did this is very powerful. Not just anyone can remove the Elements of Harmony. It makes sense why you thought it was Discord who poisoned the tree."

"Actually, we thought it was Discord because o' the cloven hooves." Applejack said.

"Whoever poisoned the tree left a mark of three black cloven hooves burned into it." Twilight added.

Luna gasped. "A mark of cloven hooves? Sister you don't think... if he has returned..."

"Then he has made his move... when the balance unravels, evil will take it's place." Celestia said. Twilight had never seen her mentor actually look scared, until now. Both Celestia and Luna's eyes were wide with fear.

Rainbow flew up and smashed her forehooves together. "Whoever this guy is, we'll track him down and pry the elements out of his hooves-"

"NO!" Celestia yelled harshly. Rainbow immediately shut up and settled back on the ground. Another first, Twilight realized. This was the first time the Princess had ever actually yelled at any of them. Celestia looked at their appalled faces and instantly she had a regretful expression. "I'm sorry. This is an enemy you are not ready to face."

"Not ready but-" Twilight started.

"It is late... we will talk more in the morning." Celestia began trotting toward the door but stumbled. She was caught by Luna who looked at her with concern. "It is nothing. Off to bed all of you." The two blackened princesses trotted out of the room, leaving Twilight and the others shocked.

As Twilight trotted to her guest bedroom, she went over what Celestia said. "Not ready... she's never said that before."

But Twilight was a princess and an alicorn. What could she possibly not face, after all the villains she and her friends defeated together? The only time Princess Celestia hadn't sent Twilight to stop a villain, was when Tirek was at large. And even then she only sent Discord because Discord could track him down quickly. Yet in the end Twilight and her friends had to stop him. But this time her mentor had specifically said this was something Twilight couldn't do. What was Celestia hiding?

Thought swirled around in Twilight's head as she slowly drifted off to sleep.