Topsy Turvy
"What's wrong Rar..." Applejack's mind drifted as she realized what distracted Rarity and Pinkie outside the room. "Oh my."
Canterlot had changed. Every single building looked identical in the same circular shape and splashed with the same golden color. The streets ran straight, not a pebble out of place. If a pony drew a line down the middle of the road, both sides would perfectly parallel each other.
Rainbow Dash jerked her leg out. "How are we going to stop Ordain now?"
Rarity looked at Rainbow Dash. "How are we going to find the observatory?"
Applejack pulled her hat to her chest. "How are we going to get out of here?"
The extreme challenge of navigating through the terrain scared me. I no longer cared about stopping Ordain or finding a way out. I simply wanted the path of least resistance. "Uh, how about I stay here with Twilight?"
Applejack placed her hat back on her head and looked directly at me. "Oh come now. You aren't going to let a little bit of change scare ya'?"
"Well no, I..." I lowered my head down to the ground. I had hoped the ponies would have allowed me to stay. Instead, Applejack saw right through my words.
Princess Celestia walked around and faced me. Her presence lifted my spirits. "Moonlight... what does your heart want?"
Tension built in my head. All my options rushed through my head. I could stay behind with Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie in search for a way to reverse Ordain's magic, but my heart compelled me to chase after Ordain himself. Getting through Canterlot would definitely be difficult. Why should I be so fearful? Princess Luna didn't waste any time considering her options. Was there another option I wasn't considering? "Celestia, what about the pegasus in the tower? Can we search for him?"
"I'm sorry Moonlight. All of Equestria is in peril. You can search for him by yourself if you wish, but Ordain is our priority right now."
My heart was distraught. Leaving my friends to handle the problem by themselves was not an viable option for me. "I, uh... no, that's alright."
Rainbow Dash jittered in place. "Come on! Let's go."
Princess Celestia nodded. "I'll search down the alleyways. You all can search down the main road."
Pinkie Pie waved farewell. "You all have fun!"
"Pinkie!" Twilight shouted from inside, "Come help me!"
"No Pinkie here. Just Whitee."
Rainbow Dash and Applejack rushed on a little bit ahead of Fluttershy, Rarity, and I. I was surprised to see how exuberant Rainbow Dash was even without her wings. I knew Applejack was capable of running long spurts with those strong legs of hers. They stopped short in front of a fork in the road.
I tried to catch my breath. "Slow... down... Rainbow Dash."
"You don't get out much, do you?"
"I'm not used to trotting this fast," I responded.
Ahead of us were three passageways. Nothing differentiated between them over the horizon.
Fluttershy said, "Which way should we go?"
Rainbow Dash responded, "I don't know. What do you think, Moonlight?"
"What makes you think I know?"
Rainbow Dash waved her arm in the air. "I don't know! You're the bookworm."
The group's eyes were glued on me. In all my days, I never gave out orders to other ponies. My leadership skills were lackluster. I glanced between each road but failed to find any ultimatum. "Right... no left... no straight."
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Make up your mind!"
I smurked, "Can we just go back the other way?"
Rarity responded, "You mean where we came from?"
Raindow Dash said, "How about this? I'll go left. Applejack and Rarity go right. Fluttershy and you go straight."
"That works," I added.
As the other ponies ran down the other roads, Fluttershy and I headed down our assigned middle road. No ponies were seen on the barren street. The buildings stretched out past our sight. Not a single door was open. The whole city seemed too artificial to be real. It was terrifying.
"Fluttershy?" I asked.
"Yeah?"
I glanced between both sides of the street. "Are you scared?"
Fluttershy responded, "Ye..e..ah. Are you?"
"Terrified," I responded without hesitation.
Oddly enough, having Fluttershy by my side provided me with the necessary comfort to press forward. I felt relieved to know I wasn't the only pony to react with such fear and anxiety. In a sense, it brought me courage.
I stopped to ask for Fluttershy's opinion. "What do you think we should do?"
"Whenever I'm lost, I ask for directions."
I randomly chose a house on the side of the street and politely knocked on the door. "Hello? Is there any pony home?"
There was no answer. We attempted knocking at the next house and the one after it. Still, no pony answered the door.
I looked at Fluttershy. "Let's try one more."
I knocked on the door. The door slowly opened.
Without seeing their face, a pony nervously asked, "Hello?"
I replied, "Please, can you tell us-"
The pony quickly shut the door.
"I guess we aren't the only ponies afraid." I turned around and slanted my head. "Come on, Fluttershy. Let's keep going."
The sun rose high over our heads. The constant heat bore down on my face. There was no change to the long stretch of stone pebbles underneath us. I lost focus of our objective and sat down. "We are never going to get out of here."
Determination emitted from Fluttershy's face as she knelt down beside me. "Moonlight. Don't give up. I'm sure-"
"What's the point?" I asked.
Fluttershy cheerful eyes gleamed with hope. "You may think we are alone out here, but we're not. There are ponies out there that are counting on us." She grabbed hold of my hoof. "One pony can make all the difference."
I wiped away the water that filled in my eyes. "How do you know?"
Fluttershy helped me up. "There was a time Rainbow Dash needed my help pulling the water up into Cloudsdale. No matter how much I tried to run from my fears, she never gave up on me. That's why we can't give up either. Ok?"
I bobbed my head. "Ok."
Fluttershy and I continued our pursuit through the city. A few minutes later, we approached a crossroads. We noticed a figure walking down the street on the left side. As the pony came closer, we spotted the rainbow-colored mane. It was Rainbow Dash. The three of us circled around each other with confused expressions on our faces.
Rainbow Dash pointed to both of us. "But... How... You..."
I poked Rainbow Dash a couple times on the nose. "Are you some sort of hallucination or illusion? You are Rainbow Dash, right?"
Rainbow Dash objected, "How do I know you aren't some sort of changeling playing tricks on me?
Fluttershy exclaimed, "Rainbow Dash!"
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Ok, but I know I went straight! How did I end up here?"
A couple of figures appeared from the opposite direction. It was Applejack and Rarity conversing about how they felt about the whole situation.
Rainbow Dash quickly pulled up her legs and dropped them again. "OH COME ON!"
I tried to restrain from laughing over the humor of the situation. "Hey there!"
Applejack responded, "Well looky here. We all ended up in the same place! How quaint."
Rarity said, "I assume you didn't find any sign of Shining Armor or Cadance anywhere either?"
The three of us shook our heads in a fluster.
Rarity meandored down the last road left untraveled. "I guess we should make our way down this way." Rarity stopped to ponder over a sound from the distance. "Wait, do any of you hear that?"
I placed my hoof over my eyes to see where the sound was coming from down the road. Two bright lights shined just near the horizon. "What is that?"
Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes. "I can't tell." She stepped forward and waved us forward. "Come on. Let's go see what it is."
As we descended, we distinguished two separate ponies walking towards us. One of the lights repelled off a unicorn's guard uniform. The other light reflected from the other pony's crown.
We finally were able to distinguish their words. Applejack lifted her front legs in high spirits. "Well I'll be. It's Shining Armor and Cadance."
"I hope we find a way out soon. My legs are aching," Cadance stated.
Shining Armor responded, "Hey look, dear! It's Applejack!"
When they reached a few yards from us, I knew Twilight Sparkle told the truth. Here a bold stallion stood in front of me decked in royal attire. Although his mane soaked full of sweat, he showed pride in his eyes and passion in his demeanor.
Cadance was no different. Despite having the capability of using magic and flying, her precious jewelry revealed a sense of nobility and discernment. The demonstration of her affection to Shining affirmed her love and respect for others.
Rainbow Dash yanked her leg around. "Shining! We have been looking for you all over the place. Where have you been?"
"Well, we were in the middle of the Canterlot gardens. Not sure after that."
Cadance glimpsed at Rainbow Dash's back. "Where are your wings?"
Rainbow Dash knocked back her head. "Ugh! Ordain."
"Ordain?" Shining Armor rubbed the side of his cheek. "I don't recall that name."
I asked, "Are you familiar with Discord?"
Cadance responded, "You mean Discord, the spirit of disharmony and chaos? The same one that caused my petunias to squirt water or flipped my house upside down? Yeah, I know him. Why?"
I responded, "Well think of Ordain as his complete opposite but just as bad. Instead of wanting a world full of chaos, he wants to bring in a new world order."
Shining asked, "So this Ordain fellow is the reason why Canterlot is this way?"
"Yes," Rarity responded, "We were hoping you would help us stop him."
"But we need to find a way out first," Fluttershy added.
That moment, a door opened from one of the houses. A unicorn sighed and turned back around to the building. He used his magic to lift the nails up out of the hinges. The entire door fell onto the ground. A royal guard exited the entryway and pushed it out onto the front yard.
The unicorn wiped his forehead and stared up into the sky. "We are never going to get out of here." He quickly glanced over at us and prodded the guard. "Sir! Look!"
The guard adjusted his helmet and ran to meet us. "Shining! I'm so glad I found you!"
Shining adjusted the position of his legs in a more resolute fashion towards the guard.
The guard glanced at Cadance and quickly bowed. "Princess." He redirected his attention back towards Shining. "Ponyville is in trouble."
Shining Armor lowered his eyebrows. "Ponyville?"
The guard responded, "Aye sir. We had hoped to find Celestia and inform her ourselves, but we got lost in this maze." The guard watched the unicorn walk up next to him. "Mind telling us where we are sir?"
"Why, you are in Canterlot," Shining replied, "Mind telling us where you two came from?"
The unicorn responded, "Uh, Ponyville... sir."
Cadance pointed down the road. "You came from Ponyville... from inside that house?"
The guard turned halfway around. "Come on, I'll show you." He proceeded to take us to the closest house. He opened the door and lead us inside. The house was completely barren except for a nearly identical door on the opposing side of the room. "These houses act like gateways. When you open a door, it seems to take you to another random location." The guard pulled the inside door ajar that revealed another room.
Rainbow Dash leaped outside around the building. "Impossible!"
Rarity yells, "What is it Rainbow Dash?"
"There's no door out here!"
The guard explained, "The door only appears inside the house."
Shining Armor asked, "You said you were from Ponyville. Can we return there from where you came from?"
The unicorn dropped his head and covered his face. The guard gripped the unicorn with his leg. "Don't worry. It wasn't your fault." He looked up at us. "What we didn't know at the time was that when you shut the door, the pathway breaks to another location. We have been tearing down the doors ever since." The guard eased his leg onto the ground and walked to the front of the house. "Here, I'll show you where we've been."
As the ponies headed out of the room, I decided to close the door. Immediately after the door shut, I heard a knock at the door. Surprised, I barely pulled the door open. "Hello?"
The sound of my own voice responded, "Please, can you tell us-"
I quickly jammed the door shut.
Applejack peered around the corner. "You comin' Moonlight?"
"Yeah."
I trotted my way over back to the group. They were already in the process of retracing the guard's steps through the house. Four rooms connected along the path. A door rested against the wall in each room. Light shined forth at the end of the hallway.
We exited outside to a small circlar road touching five cottages. The guard directed us to the cottage without a door and through another three rooms that were joined together.
Rarity asked, "How far does this go?"
The unicorn responded, "Not much farther."
At the end of the hallway was a row of houses very much like the ones we traveled through. A few doors were leaned up against a couple of the houses. Two guards attended to the pegasi hooked up to the reigns of two chariots.
As we approached them, one of the guards turned around a smile on his face. "Jade! Did you find her?"
"No, but I did manage to find a few ponies who can help."
The guard's eyes widened. "Shining! Princess Cadance!" All the guards bowed at their presence.
Cadance cordially tapped the guard's chin. "Enough with the formalities."
The guard eased his shoulders and lifted his head up. "I'm so glad to see you both. A couple of pegasi landed here during one of their patrols."
Shining asked, "Can they take us to Ponyville?"
One of the pegasi said, "Yes, but the carts can only hold up to six passengers."
Shining counted the number of ponies in the group and then looked at Cadance. "Will you be able to fly alongside us?"
Cadance stretched out her wings. "As long as it isn't too far."
"It's not," the pegasi responded.
"I'm sorry to leave you all behind," Shining said to all the guards.
Jade smiled. "We'll be fine. Go. Ponyville needs you."
As the pegasi readied their wings, Shining Armor ordered, "Alright. Every pony take a seat."
We squeezed into the chariots. The pegasi launched us into the air. As the view of the ground shrunk, we noticed something parculiar.
"Look at that!" Rarity shouted.
The ground we walked on no longer stretched flat the way we knew it. The houses and roads curved around each other in a giant sphere. From the sky's perspective, the guards stood sideways.
I said, "No wonder we all ended up in the same place. We were walking in circles!"
Rarity responded, "You couldn't tell that from the ground."
The rest of Equestria rested flat on the ground. The houses appeared normal, without any discoloration or malformations. All the houses were shaped congruently into the same form of style - a simple one-story house with a pointed roof. One road extended through all of the houses, from what used to be Canterlot, to where we knew Ponyville resided.
"Down there!" Shining Armor shouted.
The main road diverted into a grid pattern around a large sum of houses. Ponies scattered and hid to the edge of town. Ordain slithered through the alleyways until he noticed our presence. Electricity flowed through his body.
"What is he doing?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Soon after, we passed through a large fluffy cloud. The wings of Cadance and the pegasi deteriorated. The chariots plummited to the ground.
"Hangon!" Shining Armor shouted as we screamed in terror.
A flash of light flickered out of Shining's horn. Beneath us appeared a solid pink sheet of translucent magic. We softly bounced on top as if it was made of jello. When we were clearly out of harm's way, Shining retracted his magic.
"That was close," Shining Armor said.
I gave Shining a quick hug. "Thanks Shining."
"Don't mention it."
The guards pulled out from beneath the reigns and jiggled their backs in response to losing their wings. Cadance wrapped her hoof around and tapped on her back. "My wings!"
Ordain's laugh carried through the town. He pointed and mockingly said, "I would think you would have learned by now. Wings are for the birds, not ponies like you." He lightly slapped himself in the head. "Oh that's right! You're not supposed to have horns either!" Gusts of wind encircled him as he clapped his paws together.
I shouted, "Quick Shining!"
Shining prepared himself as Ordain prepared his attack. His horn glowed the same time Ordain clapped his paws together again. Ordain tossed transparent throwing starts into our direction but were cut short from a summoned force field.
Ordain stomped his feet and then threw his paws up over his head. "Again with the magic! I just don't understand. How was my brother able to deal with this?" He rocked his head side-to-side. "I guess Discord was always the better one at getting things done."
I suprisingly asked, "Discord is your brother?"
Ordain flipped his paw upward. "Come now! Don't you see the resemblance?" Ordain posed as if he was in a photo shoot. "As much as I liked my brother, we never did see eye-to-eye. Never understood what was going through his crazy mind. I mean... exploding chocolate milk? How much more random can you get?"
Rainbow Dash pounded her hooves into the ground. "We will stop you!"
Ordain patted his chest and pretended to be shocked. He threw his head back and gave out a large cackle.
Applejack said, "I don't get it."
Ordain breathed in deep and exhaled, "How?"
Rainbow quickly shouted, "The elements of harm-"
Ordain interrupted, "Harmony? Is that what you were going to say? Is that your answer to everything? Are you even sure they will work against me?"
Rainbow Dash hesitantly replied, "Well I did until you asked me that."
He rubbed his beard and looked around at the buildings in Ponyville. Ordain's mind drifted to another matter. "These houses are too pointy." Ordain generated a magic blast of bright light that expanded through the town. As it faded away, Ponyville's buildings were reformed as giant blocks of wood. There was no sign of Ordain.
Applejack leaned on one of her front legs. "He might not be Discord, but he sure acts like him. Nothing he does makes a lick of sense."
Rarity nodded. "I agree. It is like he lost his mind."
As Shining Armor dispersed his shield, I couldn't help but reflect upon Rarity's notion. Ordain lured us into his trap and drained our magic, but now he doesn't have the capability in focusing on a single subject for more than a minute. Could it have to do something with the torn book? He's too conniving to be so spontaneous like Pinkie Pie. What really happened all those years ago? At that point, I wonder if Twilight Sparkle found anything useful in the library by now.
Applejack observed me in deep meditation. "What is it, Moonlight?"
"Just thinking over what Celestia said earlier."
"Fluttershy, are you all right?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Fluttershy gazed into the distance. "My house."
Rainbow Dash shook her head. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy. Now isn't the time-"
Fluttershy pointed into the distance. "No. My house."
Rainbow Dash tilted her head and stared to where Fluttershy pointed. "How is that possible?"
All the ponies turned their attention to the building at the end of the road. Fluttershy's cottage remained intact and unharmed by Ordain's magic. We ambled closer to investigate.
Rainbow Dash poked the house. "I don't understand."
"Her house looks the same," Applejack noted.
Rarity peered around the cottage. "And so does the Everfree Forest."
As our eyes focused on our curiosity, we heard a voice come up behind us. "Excuse me. I didn't want to interfere. Can any pony tell me what is going on here?"
We turned and shouted in unison, "Zecora!"
"Houses turning into blocks of wood? This all seems very strange. I don't think you ponies expected your town to change."
Rainbow Dash asked, "Hey Zecora. Did anything change in the Everfree Forest?"
"Nothing changed as far as I know, but that was all a bit ago."
Applejack asked, "Did you see any creatures enter into the forest. Maybe with paws of a lion or legs of a lizard?"
Zecora responded, "Hmm. I do recall one passing me by. He fled into the forest with a determined look in his eye."
Shining Armor asked, "Can you show us the way?"
Zecora wandered to the entrance of the forest. "The pathway through the forest is something I'd never forget. Perhaps we'll catch up to this fellow before sunset."
As Zecora led us through the Everfree Forest, we pondered over what secrets Ordain kept from us. The idea made all of us on edge, especially Fluttershy and Cadance. The setting of the sun didn't make things any easier.
Spooked, Cadance asked, "Why hasn't the forest changed?"
Rainbow Dash responded, "Maybe Ordain is afraid of it."
Shining Armor tugged close to Cadance. "Or perhaps there is something here he doesn't want changed."
Fluttershy rapidly glanced past the tree tops. "You think he is watching us?" She heard the rustling sound of the bushes in the wind and jumped close to Rainbow Dash. "Eek!"
Rarity stepped into a puddle of mud and examined the bottom of her hoof. "Why he wouldn't want to change this place is beyond me."
Zecora stopped at a split in the road. One pathway followed up the mountain. Another led directly to a cave. The third one routed into the swamp.
Rarity asked, "Now where do we go?"
Before Zecora could answer, Cadance pointed to the side of the road and screeched, "Look out!"
A large tree tumbled down to the middle of the crossroads. We all jumped in opposite directions to avoid being crushed. Rainbow Dash jumped out of the bushes and yelled, "There!" A shadowy figure dashed closer towards the mountain. We chased after him towards a small cave.
Rainbow Dash prepared to charge after him when Shining Armor blocked her path. "Wait, Rainbow Dash."
"He is getting away!"
Shining Armor looked in the opposite direction into the cave. He whispered, "Maybe this is what he wants."
Applejack checked the mountain area adjacent to the cave entrance. "I don't see another way in."
Cadance inspected the ground and lifted up her right leg. "Do you think he is sending us into a trap?"
As the ponies searched for alternate plan of action, something caught my eye. A small twinkle of light reflected out of the cave. My curiousity gravitated my body towards the shiny trinket. I carefully stepped ever so slightly into the cave. My head pitched upward to a rumbling sound.
"Do you hear that?" Applejack watched rocks tumble down the mountainside. "Every pony clear! It's a rockslide!"
As all the ponies darted away from the entrance, I rolled deeper inside the cave. Rocks piled up on each other. I watched as light completely diminished from outside. "Help!" I cried while scratching against the barrier with my front hooves. "Let me out!" I barely caught the subtle sounds from outside.
I tried to break free from the darkness. I bucked against the stones, but my strength did not move them an inch. I pounded on the rock and yelled, "Rainbow Dash! Applejack!" I placed my mouth against the wall. "Can anyone hear me?" I snapped my ear to the enclosure in an attempt to better hear the vibrations from outside. Nothing. I heard nothing.
Though the situation seemed bleak, I sat and waited by the rubble hoping my friends would prevail in creating an opening. Seconds went by. Minutes passed. I had to accept the fact that I was alone. The virtue of patience in this situation was futile. No amount of lingering would change that.
The darkness creeped inside of me. I felt the beats of my heart pound through my entire body. The moldy smell of the tunnel burned my nose. The humid air chilled my legs. My sight remained unchanged whether I kept my eyes open or not.
My greatest fear resided further in the cavern and there was no option in turning back. The last thing I wanted to do was face an evil manace alone. I relied heavily on my friends to support me in my time of need. Can I overcome such an obstacle?
Eventually I worked up the nerve to at least move my legs deeper into the tunnel. I carefully waved ahead of me each step of the way. No sight was a detriment. I never knew which direction to proceed through.
A small fragment of light propelled through the tunnel lighting the way. The closer I encroached onto the light source, the clearer I could see around me. The passage widened until I entered a large room. A staircase led down to another room on the left and a hole down another portion of the mountain breached through the stone wall on the opposing side. The middle of the room contained a small book with a metallic frame. It occasionally shined light from the moon through a small crack in the ceiling.
Before I could open the book, the illumination of the room faded. The howling wind blew through the ceiling. Ordain's deep voice echoed around the chamber.
"Everything is going according to plan."