The second we entered something changed. Without my horn it was harder to tell, but some of my ability seemed to be intact, at least in reading magic and auras. I briefly wondered what this might mean for earth ponies in general, but then realized I had to focus. Discord was still far too chaotic to tell exactly what he did, but it was clear space had been warped in a major way. I had a feeling it was far more than that. I said we could do this, even with Dash's wings chained down like that and Raity wearing that strange helmet. Or is it more of a hat? Pinkie and Dash had both been waiting at the entrance of the maze, tied to a tree.
I also said together we could do anything, but then we all ended up alone. It ended up being that way for some time. I know I heard AJ's voice at one point, and then Discord yelling something, but they seemed to go away from me. I had seen a pink snake slither across the path in front of me a while ago, but I couldn't quite get close enough for Pinkie to hear me. Unless that was Fluttershy's new pet with it's color changed by Discord. Though we had left all our purchases, including the snake, with a helpful guard.
Then suddenly I turned a corner and there was Rarity with an enormous diamond on her back, wearing what looked like most of a wheel of swiss cheese made out of metal and pained yellow very badly. She had complained mostly about how hideous it was, but also mentioned how it made it hard for her to see.
"Oh thank goodness, I've been wandering this maze a while Rarity and…"
"You're staring at him. I can tell. I can't actually see you right now Twilight, but I know. I can hear you staring."
"What?"
"Don't you lie to me Twilight. You can't have him. Tom is mine."
"Are you talking about the diamond?"
"What else would I possibly be discussing." There was then a hiss. "Oh, now I see. Playing dumb eh? Really Twilight, Rainbow Dash or Applejack might be able to pull it off, but not you. Except you know that. Wait, what's your game here?"
"Rarity, what is wrong with you?"
Then I realized something. Her coat wasn't half as white as it should have been, and her tail was even paler. Like the color was sucked right out of her. I know I heard that of a symptom of some negative magical effect, but I can't remember exactly what. I really hope this hasn't happened to all my friends.