Solstice

Chapter 1: Sundown

The rising sun painted the sky over Fillydelphia a light pink and orange, giving the light of day to the city. With the sun, Celestia also rose, as was her custom, to go off to magic school. She packed her saddlebags with all her textbooks, flinging her head back to get her pink bangs out of her eyes. As she did, her eyes shifted to Luna, snoring loudly as she slept in a haphazard position.

Luna was the yin to Celestia's yang, the dark to her light. Celestia was very influential, but unaware of her own ability to lead most of the time. She was also a prankster at times, and quite adept at magic. Luna, on the other hoof, was loud and unafraid to speak her mind, yet she was prim and proper, adhering fiercely to social constructs. She also had a soft side that Celestia often lacked. Still, she and Celestia were the best of friends.

She walked outside and unfurled her wings, taking off into the rosy sky. She flew without thinking, having flown this path every school day for her whole life. She also did not pay any attention to the ponies starting the day's business in the marketplace below, discussing the new provinces that the warlord Discord had added to his realm. The talk became more worried everyday, as he slowly inched his way closer to Fillydelphia. Still, the optimistic ponies reasoned, of what use would a small village like Fillydelphia be to Discord? Besides, what would change even if Discord took over Fillydelphia? The current ruler, King Silvermane, already paid them little mind.

Celestia touched down in front of her magic school, and greeted her old and wizened teacher, Midnight Sporkle. She then sat at her desk, and eagerly began to learn.

Fillydelphia did not have a strong security force. The ponies that guarded it did so as a volunteer job. Thus they were unprepared for the sudden strands of cotton candy to grab them, wrap them in sticky cocoons, and quickly silence them.

Celestia was in the middle of perfecting the Amniomorphic spell on a lump of clay in front of her when the school door burst open. A completely gray stallion stood there, eyes blank and void of emotion. When he spoke, it was a voice that did not seem to belong to him at all, full of past life, now gone. "Your presence is required at the town square. You will follow me."

The students marched uncertainly toward the center of the village. As they looked around them, they saw that everypony else in the village was also heading for the center, each guided by a gray mare or stallion. When they arrived, they saw a large pony standing on the elevated stage usually reserved for the mayor. He was grayer than the other ponies, if that was possible. His eyes, instead of being dull and dead, were touched with madness. When all the ponies were gathered, he began to speak with a deep and imperious voice. "Thank you all for meeting on such short notice. We have arrived to make an important announcement."

It was then that Celestia noticed that the flag of the Silvermane Kingdom had been taken down, and standing in the balcony where it had hung were three of the gray ponies with a rolled up banner of their own.

The large stallion continued, "This territory is now part of the Empire of Discord. All your industry will now be sent to Canterlot, former capital of your kingdom, now the glorious capitol of the Empire of Discord. From there it will be distributed equally to all cities and villages in the empire, or as Lord Discord sees fit."

The gray stallion motioned toward the balcony and the three ponies unfurled the banner, bearing the seal of the Empire of Discord. Some ponies in the audience gasped at the revelation, but the majority, including Celestia, had no idea how to take the news.

The gray stallion was not done speaking yet. "As a sign of your loyalty to Lord Discord, some of you will provide yourselves for the amusement of our Lord. You will compete in the Maze of Chaos, where some of you will die, and the rest will become like myself and my troops. Since the volunteer rate will obviously be small..."

He nodded and some of the troops moved forward, prodding ponies young and old with spears to the front of the crowd. Celestia had not been picked. Over thirty ponies had, though, so that it was impossible to see all of them at one time.

The gray stallion finished, "You all have been volunteered. Rejoice, for you will soon become servants of Lord Discord. Those of you who survive, that is."

It was then that pandemonium broke loose. All of the parents, spouses, children and siblings began to shout and attempt to rescue the captives, but a powerful magical field had been put up, and their efforts were useless. In the rush of movement, one of the captives moved, and Celestia saw a face looking back at her from that small crowd.

It was Luna.

Chapter 2: Twilight

Strangely, Celestia's mind was perfectly clear, despite her world having turned completely upside down. She knew exactly what she had to do. She had to save Luna. She must. There was no other option. The only question was how.

She could barely comprehend the fact that a team of gray unicorns had encircled the group. She took no notice of the cries for help and the small skirmishes, quickly beaten back, some ponies killed. She did not truly see the flash of magic, as the group of captives were teleported away. Those ponies who had remained behind and who could not fly were aided by those who could. The army had disappeared as quickly as it had arrived, save a few who were now acting as guards.

Celestia simply took to the sky, finally taking time to truly think about what had happened. As soon as she began to realize that Luna was gone, gone, to be used as amusement for a king, to be killed, or worse, becoming his slave, she broke down. She was still just as determined to rip this Discord and his minions to pieces for even touching Luna, but she now felt the tragedy in its fullest. She felt the loss. And it caused her to fly even faster toward Canterlot.

Celestia arrived in Canterlot at record speed. Just as the gray stallion had said, the flag of Discord flew over what had once been the Silvermane Kingdom's capitol city. Before she could be spotted by one of the guards, she placed an invisibility spell on herself, that would most likely be too advanced for Discord's troops to counteract. She began frantically searching for the "Maze of Chaos" that the stallion had mentioned. As she flew over the tallest building in Canterlot, she saw it. A large hedge maze stretched out toward the horizon and an audience was gathered at the nearest end of it. From her height, Celestia could see a mass of different colors gathered in front of the audience, but separate. Undoubtedly, they were the ponies gathered from Fillydelphia and other cities.

One figure stood out from the audience. Standing tall and imperious he combined pieces of all types of animals to make up his body. Celestia turned up her nose a bit. Discord did indeed fit his name well. Celestia descended and hovered silently above the cheering audience, all completely and utterly gray. For most of them, their cutie marks were barely discernible.

Discord held up his hand, a lion paw, to quiet the crowd. He spoke, and Celestia had to remind herself that she hated him, his voice was so alluring.

"The Maze of Chaos is about to open! Now, allow me to go over the rules of our little game." He flew over to the front of the crowd of captives, and in full view of all of them, he continued. "First, no horns or wings. That would provide an...unfair...advantage." The ponies looked around in confusion at how this would be accomplished, and then Discord snapped his fingers. Every unicorn's horn and every pegasus' wings disappeared. There was no build-up or impressive looking magic. They were simply gone. There was a collective scream from the captives. Celestia's jaw fell open. To do such powerful magic with no obvious effort was impossible. Discord had paused, enjoying the effect on the captives, and went on. "The second rule is: Reach the center of the maze. At the center is a Fire Ruby. Claim it, and you win."

Many of the captives were now shivering with fear. Discord finished, "There are not other rules. The Maze is now open. If you elect to stay behind, you will be disposed of immediately. Have fun!"

Before the ponies could take a step, Celestia shot a laser beam of magic at Discord, which he caught without flinching, took in both hands, twisted it into a dog shape, and threw it off to the side where it deflated. Discord then spun around, pointed his eagle claw into a gun shape and shot at where Celestia was, as smoke came from his fingers. Celestia became visible and fell to the ground, where she landed on her hooves. Discord blew the smoke from his fingers and placed his hands on his hips. "Well, it looks like we have a filly that broke the rules. What's your name, filly?"

Celestia looked straight into his eyes, adamantly refusing to show him respect. "My name is Celestia. I am from Fillydelphia, the town you ruthlessly took ponies from to compete in your sick games. And you took my sister. I won't stand for that.

Discord feigned surprise and laughed. "Oh, your sister. Well, we cant keep the mare from her sister, now can we?" he asked the crowd. They cheered in response. Discord looked back at Celestia with a smugly amused look. Well, let's see if you can find your sister, in the MAAAAAAZZZZEEEE!" he laughed as he snapped his fingers again, and the other ponies and herself disappeared from existence. When she looked up again, large hedges surrounded her. She was in the maze, and Luna was too. Now they both were in danger.

Chapter 3: Midnight

The silence of the maze was eerie. She was alone, save for the few sounds of other ponies around her. At first she tried to fly above the hedge wall, but quickly realized that her wings were gone, along with her horn, like the other ponies. Then she began to run blindly in a random direction, desperately seeking Luna. The maze itself seemed to be alive and malevolent. As she came to a crossroads, she saw two ponies fighting. One bucked the other on the side of the head, and as she fell, she whimpered pathetically, and the other ran away. Then Discord appeared in front of the pony who had been left behind. They exchanged words that Celestia could not hear, then Discord bent down, and rubbed the mare on the cheek. The mare's eyes went multicolored for a moment, and then her coat and mane grayed into a sad version of their former colors, and both she and Discord disappeared from the Maze.

Celestia now realized where the armies of gray ponies had come from. Discord made them out of normal ponies. Hollow shells of their former selves, they served Discord because that was exactly what their new natures compelled them to do. It was sickening.

"Are you just going to sit there and wait until Discord decides it's your turn, or do you want to find your sister?"

The stallion that addressed her was shrouded in a light purple cloak with yellow and blue stars on it. On his head was a matching hat which obscured his face. He stood on top of the hedge wall, and jumped down to the ground. "You'll never save your sister by watching and waiting. Plus, you have the chance to save more than just your sister today. You just have to play by a different set of rules."

The mysterious pony turned to face her, but it was impossible to see under his hat. His horn glowed, and a bubble spread out, surrounding them. "There, now no one can see or hear us."

Celestia interrupted him, "Who are you anyway? And why should I trust you? As far as I know, everypony in this maze is an enemy."

"You have no reason to trust me. But I will tell you that I am a member of the Order of Magicians set forth by Starswirl the Bearded himself. And I want nothing more than to finish Discord. His empire is sowing disharmony and mistrust among ponies. Something I do not stand for," he replied.

"Right. How does this help me save Luna?"

"Because, simply from observing your devotion to your sister when she was taken, and observing her devotion to you, which you obviously would not have seen, I believe you two are able to defeat Discord. But first you must prove yourselves worthy."

"How?" Celestia said incredulously.

"By exemplifying certain virtues. Honesty, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty and Kindness." he replied.

"Why?"

"I can't tell you, in case Discord finds you and reads your thoughts, or worse. I need to leave you now. My magic is powerful, but even it cannot stand against the power of concentrated chaos, which Discord embodies." he explained, "Find Luna. I will guide her to you. Remember, you can only do this together," he explained. With that, he leapt to the top of the hedge wall and disappeared from sight.

It wasn't long before Celestia found Luna, almost too easily. She thanked the mysterious magician for that. Together they walked through the maze, enjoying each other's company. While they walked, Celestia explained to Luna about the situation with the virtues.

"I guess we'll need to look for opportunities then." Luna said with a chuckle. "A lot of ponies were taken, and though it hurts to say it, it should be a while before Discord gets to us."

"We can certainly hope so, Luna," Celestia replied. She was about to go on, but before she could, they came to an open area of the maze and saw a young filly lying on the ground. It tried to feebly crawl across the opening, wincing in pain with every movement. Finally it came to a rest, and could go no further.

Luna started to move toward the filly. "Luna, there's nothing we can do," Celestia started, but Luna interrupted her.

"Discord's not going to have any use for her, Tia. It's the least we can do."

Luna knelt beside the filly. She had a pink coat with a white mane and tail. "Hey, what happened to you, little filly?"

The filly picked its head up with extreme effort and looked at Luna. She coughed and choked out, "Discord...he sent...chocolate milk rain. But it froze whoever it landed on...there was a...stampede..." she squinted at Luna, "Are...are you a...princess?"

Luna smiled at her, "Do you like princesses?"

The filly weakly smiled back, "Yeah...someday...I wanna be...a...a..." she closed her eyes. In a moment, she was still.

Celestia walked next to Luna. She uttered one word, "Why?"

Luna turned to her, "Some people just need to be shown a little kindness."

They continued on through the maze. Celestia was beginning to get disoriented from all the twists and turns. She decided it was best to forget what direction they were going in. Their best option was to keep looking for other chances to make themselves worthy of the virtues. Though after the last incident, they were much more sober about this goal.

They were somewhat distracted from this goal, because the sky, and everything around them went dark. Celestia attempted to light the darkness with a simple illumination spell, but nothing happened. She reached out a hoof to find Luna, but she couldn't find her. She started to lose her mind from the utter lack of anything. Then the noises began. Subtle at first, but soon much more intense. Screams of pain. Sounds of death and suffering. These were not simply any old sounds, however. Each came from someone she knew in Fillydelphia. Then she began to see their faces in the darkness, contorted as if controlled by some demented puppeteer. And they all blamed her for their pain.

There was a much louder sound then, but it was not a terrible sound. It was

Luna, and she was laughing! "Is that the best you've got, Discord? You're not gonna scare us with your dopey special effects!"

Celestia heard Luna laughing, and it gave her strength. She began to laugh too at their being fooled and taken so easily, and slowly the darkness began to dissipate. Soon, no remnant of the sounds or images was left, and Celestia saw Luna again. She stood there smirking slightly. "I've got two, sister. You're gonna have to catch up."

Now becoming used to the chaotic nature of the aptly named maze, Celestia and Luna treaded lightly. Soon they reached another open area, this one much larger than the first. Celestia looked around cautiously. There were other ponies in this area. All of them seemed to be trying to take a quick respite from the maze.

As they too began to rest, a rumble shook the area. A giant crevasse began to open in the ground, and it spread, dividing the area in half. Most of the ponies were unfazed by this development, from what they'd been through so far. A colt and a filly, however, screamed loudly, drawing the attention of Celestia and Luna. They looked over and saw that they had been separated from their mother, on the other side of the gap. Celestia decided right then and there that she was not about to let another foal suffer at the hand of Discord. She trotted over to the foals. She attempted to measure the gap. It was too wide for her to leap with a foal on her back. She probably wouldn't be able to toss the foal without missing. Then she glanced down at her tail. She had been growing it out for a long time. It was pretty strong too. She wondered if she could turn it into a rope, and hoist the foals over the gap with Luna's help. It could work...it might even fulfill the Generosity requirement. She called Luna over and explained the plan. Then she called to the mother on the opposite side and explained the plan as well. The foals were excited, and the mother looked relieved as well. Now it was time for the sacrifice.

Celestia moved her tail into her mouth and began chewing on it. To the foals she must have looked incredibly silly, but she could feel the strands separating. soon her tail was almost completely shorn, a small stump of hair left. deftly, and with Luna's help, she knotted the foals into the hair and then, one end clamped in her mouth, she ran and leaped over the gap. Now Luna had to move quickly, because the foals were suspended over the chasm. The mother began to look rather worried as well. Luna was quick though, and jumped only a second after Celestia had. The foals were safely on the other side of the chasm, in the hooves of their mother.

Their mother turned to Celestia, "Thank you..."

Celestia stopped her. "It was the least I could do."

They exited through a path on the side of the large area, while discussing how to meet the requirements for Honesty and Loyalty. As they turned a corner, they saw in a clearing a ruby. Not just any ruby a Fire Ruby. THE Fire Ruby! As they began to walk toward it, there was a white flash, and Discord appeared. "Well, well. It seems you both have made it through my maze, and mostly unscathed at that. But now it's time for your final test. I prefer having only one winner, but I'm...open to two winners. Let's see. A test of your loyalty, perhaps? Yes. You, Luna, is it? Who is your true ruler?"

Luna glanced at Celestia, then back at Discord. "Celestia is my ruler. I will never serve you."

Discord glared at her. "Celestia is as much a ruler as you are, you misguided filly. I'll ask again. Who is your ruler?"

"Celestia!" Luna shouted back, "Once you're gone, that is. And we'll arrange that."

Discord sighed, "Alright, fine, I see there'll be no convincing you otherwise. I suppose you two win. Take the fire ruby and you'll warp out of here, safe and sound."

With that, he disappeared. Celestia and Luna glanced at each other.

"Friends to the end, Luna?"

"Friends to the end, Tia."

They locked arms and marched toward the fire ruby. They disappeared in a flash of light.

Chapter 3: Dawn

They landed in the throne room of the keep in Canterlot. Discord sat before them, pensive. "What, you really thought I'd let you go that easily? No, you're going to become my servants, just like all the other winners. Maybe you'll even be high up in the chain of command, you have such spirit."

Discord reached over and ran his finger down Luna's cheek, who recoiled at the touch. "Oh, and to put the icing on the cake, all the other ponies will become my slaves too. Your work was for NOTHING!"

"I wouldn't say that, Discord," a voice came from the ceiling.

All three looked up. The purple cloaked figure descended lightly and faced Discord. "We're about to finish you."

Discord laughed, "With what magic? You fool, I am chaos, and chaos is me! Your puny magic can't begin to contain that."

The figure tilted back his hat. He had no beard, as his ancient predecessor did, but power still radiated from his figure. He had a pale grey coat, and a bright blue mane, both of which brightened the dark hall. "Discord, with all your power, have you never heard of the Elements of Harmony?"

"The Elements- no, can't say that I have," Discord replied, a bored expression on his face.

"The most powerful of all magic, they channel a power even greater than chaos. They channel something these young fillies understand better than you ever will. They channel friendship magic," the magician replied curtly.

"Friendship?" Discord laughed, "Oh, but this is priceless. You intend to...friend me?"

"In short, yes."

"Enough of this," Discord grew angry, "I intend to make these fillies my slaves, and you too, for that matter."

The magician smirked, "Too late."

A flash of magic occurred, and sitting on the floor were five gems, each a different color and shape. As each began to glow, the magician began to speak, almost as if he was casting a spell.

"Kindness, encouraging the filly who never made it out. Laughter, facing the fears you showed them. Generosity, Celestia sacrificing her tail and safety for two foals. Loyalty, remaining true friends until the end. Honesty, answering truthfully about the ruler of Equestria-"

Discord stood, "Now wait a minute. I am the true ruler of this land, not her."

The magician outright grinned now, "Not after today, and the Element knows it. Finally, Magic, demonstrated perfectly by Celestia, and, more importantly, through their friendship!"

A sixth gem appeared, glowing more brightly than any of the others. Together they combined into a five-spoked structure, each holding a different element. It hovered between Celestia and Luna, and began to spout a rainbow at Discord. His hand glowed as he made a punching motion at the magician. As the rainbow slowly encased him into stone, he shouted above the rushing wind, with arm still outstretched, "Ha! I still have your sis-" and he was silent, as the stone came up over his head.

After the rainbow had disappeared, the sisters noticed that the magician was lying on the floor, bleeding profusely. He gasped as his life slowly ebbed away. "Celestia...Luna...fantastic..."

Celestia knelt, eyes welling with tears. "We'll save you, I promise."

The magician smiled, "No, this curse is..." he coughed, "irreversible. Just...just make sure my cloak and hat..." he wheezed, each word costing him remaining strength, "they must be passed...to another...another wizard."

Celestia whispered now, "Yes, of course."

"One...final request?"

"Of course," Celestia attempted to smile.

"Keep watch...on...my family... The Lula...moons..."

The magician then left this world.

Epilogue: A New Night

Celestia sighed, locked in the Canterlot Tower. 1,000 years had passed, almost too quickly for her. Being a ruler came with benefits, it seemed. But not everything was cheery.

It was too soon after Discord's fall that Luna had changed. It had happened slowly, for sure. Small changes every day. It was a month before she realized that Luna had been affected by Discord's touch. One week after she realized this, she changed completely, into a mare of darkness, Nightmare Moon. The old Luna wasn't even there anymore.

So here she was, locked in the tower, a prisoner of her own sister. But she knew, she just knew, somewhere in there, Luna still fought. Subtly, surely, she fought.

She knew just as surely that her pupil, Twilight Sparkle was the new Element of Magic. She knew that the same forces of fate that had guided her and Luna in the maze would guide Twilight and her friends now. They would not just be handed the Elements, they would have to earn them, just as she and Luna did.

Luna would help them. Buried inside Nightmare Moon, Celestia knew Luna would be able to influence Nightmare Moon to put perfect trials in the way of Twilight and her friends, trials that would earn them the Elements. Luna had not finished fighting yet.

Outside the throne room, in the gardens, Discord stood, a monument of history to all. And Celestia prayed, no matter what, that they would never have to face him.

Inside the stone, Discord waited.