//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Our Only Hope // Story: Beneath a Discordant Sun // by hauntu4ever //------------------------------// "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.”