A Better World

Princess Cadence looked over the Crystal Empire with searching eyes, watching the last few citizens retire to their homes before curfew. Guards patrolled the streets, casting long beams of light with their horns as they searched for any signs of trouble. But, as usual, nothing disturbed the tranquil night other than the occasional hoot of an owl and the soft hoof steps of the guards themselves.

"Hey."

Cadence nodded to acknowledge the arrival of her husband. She gave him a light kiss on the cheek as he approached the railing of the Crystal balcony and looked down over their shared kingdom.

"Anything to report dear?" she asked hopefully.

Shining Armor shook his head.

"Oh." Cadence muttered, sighing as she slumped over the railing. She felt a vague sense of disappointment she couldn't quite place. It was as if... something was missing. She'd done her royal duty as Crystal Princess, guiding her subjects to peace and prosperity with Twilight's help. Yet now that they had achieved that peace, why did she desire more?

Cadence levitated open her saddle bags, pulling out three thin, glowing crystal shards. She peered into them, hoping they would give her a sign. Nothing. Her own reflection stared back at her, looking overworked and weary.

"What are those?" Shining asked, shaking Cadence out of her thoughts.

"Shards." Cadence replied. "Shards of the Crystal Heart."

Shining raised his eyebrows. "Why would you go chipping pieces off the Crystal Heart exactly? Wasn't that the reason we closed it off?"

Cadence laughed humorlessly. Nearly a year ago, some stallion had thought it would be a good idea to chip off a piece of the Heart as a souvenir. Luckily a guard saw him, and quickly arrested the stallion before he could sneak away. The stallion was sent to a work camp and the Heart was closed off to public viewing. Now the artifact was protected by force fields, enchantments and guards around the clock. Cadence had been hesitant to do this at first, as the Heart was supposed to be an open source of love to all her subjects, something they could visit at any time for guidance or reassurance. But Twilight quickly convinced her of the reality. It was simply impractical and illogical to leave the Heart open to attack or vandalism.

She'd never imagined, all those years ago, that the five year old unicorn filly she foal sat would become the ruler of all Equestria. Cadence remembered when she nervously brought up her crush on Shining Armor, and filly Twilight immediately started making charts and graphs to determine just how romantically compatible they were.

"Oh Twilight!" she'd laughed as she ruffled the filly's mane. "You think too much with your head and not enough with your heart!"

Yet in the end, Twilight was right. Celestia, for all her benevolence and expertise as a ruler, never achieved lasting Harmony. She'd been too sympathetic, too lenient to truly defeat the evils that plagued Equestria. The sad truth was, she'd thought too much with her heart, and not enough with her head. In two years, Twilight managed to achieve what her mentor hadn't for 1000. Cadence had long believed that love was the mightiest force in Equestria, but now, now she knew that there was a greater force. Logic.

Putting aside her thoughts, Cadence turned to her husband, levitating the glowing shards aside. "We're going to weaponize them. These pieces are essentially an unlimited magical power source. Sunburst is leading a team of unicorns in developing some kind of magical cannon. It might be just what we need to defeat the changelings once and for all." She chuckled a little bit. "I heard him call the project: 'Tough Love'."

Shining smiled at her joke. "Sounds like you've been pretty busy."

"What else is there to do around here anymore?" Cadence replied dryly, peering into the shards again.

"What are you looking for? Is something bothering you?" Shining asked concernedly.

"It-It's nothing important."

"Come on, tell me." Shining pressed.

Cadence sighed. "You know those legends about how the Crystal Heart shows you your true destiny if you look into it?"

Shining nodded, looking unsure.

"A few years ago, when the Crystal Empire first came back and Twilight defeated Sombra, I looked into the Crystal Heart. I saw myself as a beautiful princess, radiating love magic and shining with a crystal hue. But over time... that reflection started fading away. Now all I see is myself. I've been waiting, hoping for that beautiful reflection to come back, but every day it only seems to get duller and duller, more colorless and bland."

Shining pulled her close. "Maybe it's because you've already achieved your destiny. You are a beautiful princess, the princess of Love, and the Crystal Empire."

"But what if, what if the Heart is telling me something? What if it's saying... I'm not worthy to be the princess of Love? Was I wrong to close off the Heart? Wrong to declare war on the changelings?" Cadence wondered woefully. "I did those things to protect my subjects, because I love them, but..."

"But what?" Shining asked patiently.

Cadence looked her husband directly in the eyes. "Do you ever wonder if we're wrong Shining? If Twilight is wrong?"

Shining looked away and Cadence shifted nervously. If any of her subjects were caught having this discussion, they'd be arrested for treason. One of the privileges of being royalty these days was having a little privacy.

"I used to, back when Luna was in charge." Shining said hesitantly.

Cadence remembered those days. Celestia had just died, and all of Equestria was in mourning... except Twilight. She seemed more determined than ever, determined to destroy evil for taking away her mentor. At first, Luna and Twilight had been on the same side, hunting down the changelings that attacked Canterlot and destroying Sombra. But then Twilight realized that external enemies weren't the only problem, but internal dissent was an equally dangerous threat. She started cracking down on Equestria itself, using her powerful magic to dispense justice on ponykind. Then Luna began denouncing Twilight's actions, saying that she was going too far.

But Twilight quickly found out the truth. Without her sister to keep her in check, Luna had once again become the dreaded Nightmare Moon and wanted power only for herself. Twilight and her friends used the Elements to imprison her in stone, thus saving Equestria yet again. After the loss of two rulers to evil's grasp, Equestria was ready to accept whatever rules Twilight proposed, so long as they were kept safe.

"The system might be harsh sometimes... but it works, and that's what matters." Shining finished. Cadence realized she'd completely missed what he'd said, but those last words were enough to take his meaning.

She nodded and smiled at him. "You're right. It works... and that's what matters for our subjects... for us." They embraced warmly.

"Don't forget Flurry Heart." Shining said, grinning.

"And Flurry-"

BOOM!

Cadence looked out at the sky, and saw massive black clouds approaching. Lightning lit up the sky in  brilliant flashes, followed by loud claps of thunder.

"What the-! We aren't scheduled for a storm!" Shining yelled over the storm clouds.

Cadence squinted, making out small, multicolored shapes among the inky black clouds. Among them, she could see a flying carpet with several riders on it.

"It's the rebels. Time for some tough love."