I'd sure like a do-over on that opening ceremony
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight screamed as the white form of the Princess vanished under a tsunami of black crystals, straining against the grip of Princess Cadance. "No! You have to let me go! I have to save her!"
"Twilight! There's nothing we can do!"
Twilight lashed out, struggling wildly as Cadance pulled her back, dragging her into the shelter of the library, one of the few buildings which had not yet fallen in the assault. As Cadance's magic slammed the doors shut with a loud clunk, Twilight collapsed into Cadance's chest, weeping.
"I... I couldn't save her..." She shuddered violently. "She... I..." She shook her head. "I never should have let her go out alone. Why didn't we stop her?"
"Shh, shh." Cadance slowly stroked Twilight's mane. "Princess Celestia knew what she was doing. I'm sure she'll be alright."
"No she won't! You saw what King Sombra was doing out there! She... she's..." Twilight squeezed her eyes shut.
"We won't know that until we've dealt with King Sombra." Cadance slid her hoof underneath Twilight's chin, the golden hoofshoe smudged with ash and the remnants of the dark magic they had been combating. "I need you to be strong; I can't do this on my own. Now, take a deep breath..."
It took several attempts for Twilight to finally steady her breathing under Cadance's direction, the younger alicorn finally rising unsteadily to her hooves. "Thanks," she said, in a low, subdued voice.
"Don't thank me yet. We still have an Empire to save." Cadance gave Twilight a squeeze around the shoulders. "Come on, let's go find the others."
Twilight smiled weakly before stepping away, slowly making her way down the hall, stepping around the books scattered on the floor from the shelves. "Spike? Shining Armor? Are you still in here?"
"I'm here!" The small dragon burst out of one of the side rooms, followed shortly thereafter by the stallion.
"What's going on out there? I heard screaming." Shining Armor looked at his wife, then his sister, seeing the tears on her cheeks, before his eyes widened. "Where's Princess Celestia?"
"She's gone," Cadance said, trying to keep her voice steady, but it was a wasted effort.
"Gone? She can't be gone." Spike's voice wavered as he spoke, the false bravado ringing hollow in the air. "She's Princess Celestia! There's no way someone like Sombra could get her."
"I'm sorry Spike. I couldn't save her." Twilight knelt down, her eyes shimmering. "It'll be alright though. I promise."
Spike threw himself on the ground, wrapping his arms around Twilight's leg. "I'm sorry! This is all my fault!"
"It's not... " Twilight began, before the tears started falling, swallowing her words as she just lay down to wrap herself around the young dragon, weeping openly.
"It's not your fault, Spike. There's no way you could have known that Sombra was still alive in there." Shining Armor leaned down against the pair, taking them both into his hooves. "If it was anyone's fault, it was mine. I never even thought that something could corrupt the Crystal Heart like that. It was our responsibility to keep it safe, and now look at it." He nodded towards the wall of the library, where the crystal was slowly turning black. "And now, with Princess Celestia..." He growled. "I used to be the Captain of the Royal Guard; if I had gone out with them instead of staying here, maybe I could have saved her."
Twilight swallowed and licked her lips. "There's nothing you could have done. There was nothing I could have done. She—"
"How do you know that, Twilight? Maybe if I had been there, things would have been different, and she would have made it!"
"It's not that!" Spike shouted, lifting one hand to rub at his eyes.
Twilight leaned her head in close, letting her forehead rest against his spines. "What is it, then?"
Spike shuddered as he spoke. "I was so embarrassed because I screwed up lighting the torch and singing the Cloudsdale Anthem, I told Twilight to send me back in time and do it right, and then I did, but Emerald Gleam told me she found this really neat red crystal, so I went to take a look, but—"
Twilight blinked, leaning back to look down at the little dragon. "What are you talking about? I never sent you back in time."
"You did! You just can't remember because... ugh..."
"Spike, you're not making any sense. You lit the torch just fine! And you never even tried to sing the Cloudsdale Anthem. Do you even know it?"
"No! That's why it was so embarrassing!" Spike convulsed. "And I was so depressed, I made you send me back in time to fix it, so that I didn't do it! And now look at what happened!"
"You can't go back in time," Cadance said, shaking her head slightly as she stepped over towards them, spreading a wing to drape it over the trio. "You can't change the past."
"Well, actually..."
Shining Armor and Cadance stared at Twilight.
"Hey! Don't look at me like that!" She shook her head, rising and stepping away. "I didn't do it on purpose last time. But that spell only works once, and only for a few minutes, and you can't change anything with it." Twilight looked down at Spike. "There's no way I could have done that. Magic can't do everything."
"But you did! You said you figured out a way to send someone's mind into the past, and then they could remember what they did in the future and change it."
"Did it work?"
Spike laughed mirthlessly. "Of course it worked. Just look at me." He looked down at himself. "Well, bad example I guess."
Twilight paced. "And I figured out how to do this?"
"Yeah." Spike's whole body trembled. " It is all my fault. I was being selfish. But this is even worse! I wish you hadn't. I wish you had never done it. Then none of this would have ever happened."
Twilight's eyes lit up. "That's it! You're a genius, Spike!"
"Huh?"
"All I have to do is send myself back in time to—"
"You said it wouldn't work on anyone it had been used on before."
Twilight stopped. "But you said I used it on you. I don't remember any of this."
"Yeah, but you said it wouldn't work on you, either, because of the other spell."
Shining Armor and Cadance traded a glance. "Send me," Cadance said. "If I can stop all of this from happening—"
"But I don't even know how to cast the spell! I haven't invented it yet!" Twlight chewed at the inside of her cheek. "Spike, did I tell you how I did it?"
Spike shook his head. "I dunno. It took you a while to come up with it. You never told me the nitty gritty details."
"Did I ask you to find any books?" Twilight grabbed Spike by the shoulders and shook him. "You have to remember something!"
"Yeah, you did," Spike looked away, down towards the ground, frowning at the reflection of the darkened ceiling in the crystalline tiles. "Something about memory. Mnemonics? And some book called A Brief History of Time Magic."
"Do you remember where they were?"
Spike shook his head slowly.
"I'll go find them," Cadance said, trotting off.
"Did I say anything else?"
"I..." Spike began to tear up again. "I can't remember!"
Twilight trembled with frustration as the tears began to flow down Spike's cheeks, her grip tightening before she realized what she was doing, pulling him in against her chest in a hug instead. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be putting so much pressure on you."
"When would you send her to? Before Spike brought Sombra's horn near the Crystal Heart?" Shining Armor's voice betrayed more than a hint of worry as he stood up, but there was steel in his eyes.
Twilight bit her lip. "Did any of this happen the first time?"
Spike shook his head. "No. I basically spent the whole games cooped up inside my room."
"That's it, then! We send her back before I cast the spell, and then she can tell me not to, and then none of this ever happens!"
"Isn't this a little dangerous? It didn't go too well the last time," Spike asked, taking a cautious step forward.
"Neither did fighting Sombra." Twilight tossed her head, sweeping her mane back with her magic. "We have to do this. For everyone we've lost, and for all the ponies of the Crystal Empire."
"You're right." Shining Armor turned back towards the small dragon. "Spike, when did you say that this happened?"
Spike sniffled. "Right after the ice archery competition."
"Do you remember what day that was?" Twilight bit her lip as he shook his head, a glance to Shining Armor revealing the same.
"If we do this, we have to do it right. Spike, can you run and see if you can find me a schedule of the Equestria Games?"
"Yeah... yeah, I can do that. I'll go find one," Spike rubbed the tears out of his eyes, jumping to his feet and scampering off.
"Shining Armor, I need you to—"
"Crystalsssssssss."
Shining Armor lifted his head, narrowing his eyes at the ceiling as large, jagged black crystals began to grow out of it. "He's found us."
Twilight began breathing rapidly. "Okay, okay, this is no time to panic. All I have to do is come up with a new spell that Starswirl the Bearded couldn't before King Sombra gets us all; easy." She jerked at a touch on her shoulder, whirling around, only to see Cadance standing behind her, several books enveloped in her blue magic.
"We'll stop him," Cadance said, smiling as she leaned down to look into her eyes. "You just figure out that spell."
"Right, right. The spell." Twilight's eye began twitching as she began muttering to herself, her horn lighting up as she snatched the books away from Cadance, flipping through the pages rapidly as she paced back and forth, not even looking up as the ceiling continued to blacken, a terrific face with glowing green eyes growing out of the darkened crystals. "Spike! Have you found that schedule yet?"
"Got it!" The little dragon shouted, running forward just as a long spear of crystal fell from the ceiling, only to be blasted away at the last moment by a beam of purple light.
"Hurry!" Shining Armor gestured with his hoof before turning his attention back towards the ceiling, the violet glow of his horn soon joined by the blue of his wife as a hemisphere of shimmering light formed around them, reaching down to touch the ground just behind the dragon's tail as he dove forward, shielding his head with the crumpled schedule.
"Crystallllllssssssssssss," Sombra hissed from the ceiling as more of his amorphous body began to take shape, his ruddy horn beginning to glow with the sickly iridescent purple and green magic he so loved, the dark energies raining down on the shield, the ground shuddering beneath from the impact.
Spike rose unsteadily to his feet, barely able to keep his footing as the ground continued to vibrate from the magical energies surging around inside the library, dark crystals continuing to grow from the ceiling and wall, the speed of their advance accelerating as King Sombra battered at their shield with his foul magics.
"What's the deal with him and crystals, anyway?" Spike asked, glancing up at the glaring monstrosity.
"Spike! The schedule!"
Twilight's shrill cry brought him back to reality as he waved it in her direction. "Here!" The schedule was ripped from his claws as Twilight rapidly glanced over the page. "It was today." She glanced over at a clock perched upon the wall, even as the crystals began to grow around it, cracking its surface, her eyes widening. "Right now."
"Twilight?" Spike looked up at her face, but she was already lost in thought.
"M, M," Twilight licked her lips as she flipped through the books, muttering to herself. "No, thoughts. Should be under transferring... no... telepathy... chrono..."
"Hurry! We can't keep this up!" Shining Armor's voice was strained, his hooves braced against the floor, which was beginning to crack beneath him.
"It's not easy coming up with a spell in five minutes!"
The floor creaked ominously under the assault of black magic, the tiles beginning to craze and crack as the shield only barely held the tainted magic at bay.
"I don't think we have five minutes, Twilight," Spike said quietly.
"Then stop interrupting and let me concentrate!" Twilight snapped, her eyes rapidly flickering from one book to the next. The few books which remained on the shelves began to fall from them as the dark crystals crept towards the ground, the beautiful bookshelves twisting and shattering as the black crystals grew between them.
Spike slowly looked around the room as he tried to keep his balance, the ground rocking beneath his claws as the whole library rattled from the energies being unleashed in the middle of it, the toxic magic of King Sombra pouring down over the shield like a waterfall of dark flame. He stumbled, colliding with Twilight before falling on his tail. "Twilight..."
Twilight jerked her head, the books all slamming shut with a loud thump and falling to the floor as a halo of swirling purple magic began to form around her. "Right. We've only got one shot at this. Cadance, I'm going to need your horn."
"I can't! If I stop holding the shield..."
Twilight shuddered. "If you don't, I can't cast the spell on you!"
"Are you sure it will work?" Spike asked in a trembling voice, looking up at Twilight with big eyes.
"It has to! I did it before, I can do it again." She laughed. "Well, technically I didn't do it before, but..."
"Twilight!"
"Right!" She closed her eyes, straining as her horn's glow intensified. "Cadance, I need you!"
"I can't!"
"Go, I'll hold him off!"
"Shiny—"
"Do it!"
Cadance lowered her head, the glow of her horn going out; she winced as she saw the cracks forming on the shield, her vision blurring with tears as she turned back towards Twilight. "I love you," she shouted over the din.
"I know," her husband replied, before grimacing, the cracks creeping further down the shield, down towards the floor as the dark crystals began closing in around them, the spiky protrusions racing across the floor towards the edges of the shield.
"Are you ready?" Cadance asked, lowering her head towards Twilight.
"I'd better be!" Twilight opened her eyes, meeting her gaze. "Find Emerald Gleam. Make her tell you where she found that red crystal." The floor began to disintegrate around her hooves, small fragments of broken crystal being swept up into the whirlwind of violet magic swirling around her. "And whatever you do, whatever you say, stop me from casting that spell!"
"I will. I promise."
Twilight smiled, closing her eyes and leaning forward even as the shield shattered around them, the shards of magic sparkling like glass as they tumbled to the ground around them. The last thing Cadance saw was a horrifying wave of black crystals pouring down onto her.
After that, there was only darkness.
She was alive; of that, she was sure. But what was that noise? Was that... cheering? And why was she on the ground? Since when was there grass in the library?
Her eyes opened at the sound of Spike's voice. "I guess."
"You guess?" Cadance joined the chorus of voices as she rose to her hooves. In front of her were Twilight and her friends; beside her, Celestia and Luna, whole and unharmed. Where was she?
"I just saw what needed to be done and reacted. It just so happens I can breathe fire, and, if any of you could do that, you'd have done the same."
"Forgive me for bein' blunt, Spike," Applejack said as she stepped forward, "But you're not makin' a lick of sense."
With their attention turned on Spike, Cadance was able to get her bearings. She was at the Crystal Coliseum, at the Equestria Games. Her heart leapt as she saw Shining Armor standing out on the field, resplendent in his armor, and she almost flew out to him. But she stayed her wings. She couldn't, not yet.
"Well," Spike looked down towards the ground. "It's just how I feel."
She looked back to Twilight. What was she supposed to do? When would Twilight cast that spell? She reflexively took a calming breath, drawing a glance from Princess Celestia. What if this was what caused Twilight to think of the spell in the first place? What if she gave her the idea that she could do it?
"Wait a second. I think I get it!" Twilight said, swooping down to point her hoof at him. "You keep saying you let everypony down, but we all keep saying you didn't." She leaned down towards him. "You know who's disappointed in you, Spike? You. And only you an make it right with you again. What would that take, Spike?"
"Meh, I don't know. Can you turn back time? 'Cause I'd sure like a do-over on that opening ceremony."
Cadance could see it; the hoof on Twilight's chin, the narrowed eyes. She knew this was the moment - the exact moment - she should step in. But what should she say? What could she say? She couldn't just tell her what happened, that might make it happen in the first place. Why did time magic have to be so complicated?
The silence lingered a second too long; she could feel the moment slipping away, disaster rearing its head. She couldn't let it happen again. She had to do something, now. "We can't turn back time," she said, speaking quickly as she put on her best smile, looking straight ahead. What could... of course, that box! "But, would you do me the great honor of lighting fireworks in my place at the closing ceremonies tonight?"
"Come on, Spike! You saved the Crystal Empire! Twice! I think you can light some fireworks," Twilight added, a hint of laughter in her voice as she smiled down at the dragon. Twilight really had grown, hadn't she? This was three times now that she'd saved her. But she couldn't tell her; she had made a promise.
Cadance closed her eyes and nodded, joined by the princesses standing beside her, trying to add as much warm approval to the gesture as possible. Would it be enough? Did anyone notice her knees trembling?
"Mmm," Spike paused for a moment, putting his claws to his lips. "Well, I guess I have to at least give it a shot."
Cadance felt a surge of elation, and let her cheers join that of her friends. It was over; the danger past. All she had to do was find that horn... and try not to celebrate too much.
She wasn't sure she had it in her to explain why she was so excited about fireworks.
Author's Note
Thanks to DbzOrDie and RainbowBob for prereading and advice on the story.
