A Better World

"Are you sure this is a good idea Twilight?" Fluttershy asked nervously, yelping as a bolt of lightning struck the air next to her.

Rainbow Dash raced up to the offending cloud and kicked it back into place. "Are you kidding? I've made storms before, but never one this big!" she said gleefully. "Its totally awesome! Almost as awesome as the time we made that tornado in Ponyville!"

"And dangerous. Just my style." Daring said cooly, grinning as she held down her hat against the wind. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Iron Will, Zecora and Trixie sat on the flying carpet, bracing themselves against the wind as both Starlights levitated beside them, using their magic to keep the carpet stable.

"The storm's working! Keep it up!" Twilight yelled. The Element of Magic glowed as she focused her pegasi and unicorn magic to keep control of the massive hurricane. Despite the risk, it was doing its job. Several dozen pegasi guards hovered below them looking uncertain and hesitant to approach. The occasional guard would try, but quickly fly away, singed by lightning or blown back by the strong winds that buffeted downward. Twilight pointed to the castle balcony, urging her companions on. If all went well, they wouldn't have to fight anypony until they got inside the castle. After that, they only had to make to the mirror room.

"They're backing off! We can-"

Suddenly, Twilight saw an orange-blue blur fly past her with a crackling sound like electricity. It stopped just in front of the flying carpet, and Twilight was able to get a good look at the pegasus. He had a jet blue, almost electric mane and a pleasant orange coat. Twilight froze, unable to move as she stared in shock at the familiar face of Flash Sentry. He stared back at her, hovering in the air as a small hint of recognition crossed his face.

"Do it!" A-Starlight yelled.

Twilight blasted a ray of magic at Flash's counterpart, but her second of hesitation cost her. A-Flash dodged the blast and slashed at the carpet with his spear, tearing it to shreds and barely missing its riders. The carpet's magic failed, sending Twilight's non flying friends tumbling towards the ground. All hesitation gone, Twilight flicked her horn and let out an arc of power, knocking pseudo-Flash out of the air. Sniffing in sorrow, Twilight gently lowered his dazed form onto the crystal streets below.

"Weee!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, throwing her hooves into the air as if riding a roller coaster. Applejack made odd flapping motions with her hooves while Iron Will curled up in a ball, looking fearfully at the unforgiving crystal ground below. Rarity and Trixie screamed in absolute terror, surprisingly harmonizing very well. Strangest of all, Zecora simply closed her eyes in a meditative state, as if falling to her doom didn't bother her in the slightest.

All six of them were caught in blue auras as both Starlights strained to slow their fall. They all managed to land on their hooves, only to be met with an army of angry crystal guards charging towards them. Twilight saw Pinkie pull out her party cannon (yelling something about "the alamo") and fire a cornucopia of baked goods directly in the guards' faces. The wave of deserts caught the guards completely off, well, guard and sent them reeling back. Pinkie dug into her mane and tossed Applejack her lasso.

Applejack shook her head. "You know what, this time, ah ain't gonna ask." She grabbed the lasso in her mouth and began looping it in the air, rodeo style.

Trixie smiled as A-Starlight landed beside her. "Ready to kick some flank?"

"You bet!" A-Starlight laughed, hoof bumping her new friend.

"Try to keep up." Trixie teased cockily as she lobbed a smoke bomb, causing several nearby guards to go into a coughing fit.

"Oh it is on!" A-Starlight replied confidently, blasting three guards in one hit.

Zecora meanwhile, took a much more hooves on approach to fighting. Twilight saw her spin and flip, fighting in a some ancient zebra martial arts form Twilight had never heard of. Iron Will was much less graceful, but added his own flair by nearly equaling Zecora's rhyming prowess.

Fluttershy landed next to Pinkie and Rarity, looking extremely nervous. "Um is it okay if I just um stay in the back here with you girls for bit?" she squeaked.

"Sure Fluttershy!" Pinkie exclaimed happily. "You can help me decide what to fire next! I was thinking cherry pie, but then I thought wouldn't it be cool if I used something exotic like an eclair?! Or even a chimicherry... or is it cherrychanga?"

Rarity sighed. "Fluttershy I'm not one for fighting either dear, but I have a feeling we're in for a different kind of pain."

As Twilight surveyed the battle, she focused on maintaining the storm, trying to keep away the other pegasi guards (who, fortunately weren't as fast as Flash Sentry). She felt the power of her Element within her, supplying her with magic in its purest form.

"Look out!"

Before Twilight could react, Rainbow Dash shoved her out of the way a bright crystalline flash lit up the sky. For a brief moment, Twilight saw Rainbow look at her with a shocked expression on her face. Then, almost instantaneously, Rainbow's body turned completely into crystal, leaving nothing but a statue where the pegasus had been. Everything seemed to stop.

The logical part of Twilight's brain yelled what the emotional part refused to accept. Rainbow Dash had just...

Twilight felt a hard slap across her face, and immediately everything was brought back into focus. "Kid, snap out of it! Come on!" Daring Do pointed urgently at the Rainbow's statue, just seconds from hitting the ground and shattering. Twilight wrapped the statue in her aura, lowering it to the ground as she and Daring landed beside it.

With nopony to control it, the storm began spreading rapidly. Dark clouds encompassed the sky as freezing rain began to pour down onto the battlefield. The pegasi guards dove for cover, scrambling away from the out of control tempest.

Twilight didn't care about any of it. She wept, adding her tears to the droplets of cold water running across her face.

Daring put a hoof on her shoulder. "Twilight... I'm so sorry." Twilight could feel Daring's hoof trembling, and realized that the explorer was just barely containing her grief.

The sounds of the battle around them seemed to fade into the background, as grief shrouded her vision like a fog. Through that white mist, she saw a rickety wooden bridge surrounded over a dark chasm. The ominous trees of the Everfree forest swayed about in the night, casting creepy shadows. Three sinister looking mares clad in black flight gear circled Rainbow Dash, tempting her with her deepest desires. Nightmare Moon's dark magic called to Rainbow, urging her to abandon her friends as Twilight watched helplessly from the other side of the gap. Her heart sank as Rainbow held out her hoof, seeming to accept the offer. Just as she lost hope, Rainbow shook her head, turning away Nightmare Moon's temptations.

She remembered her words from all those years ago. "And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire, represents the spirit of... LOYALTY!"

The last word echoed through Twilight's mind, banishing the latent grief that threatened to consume her. Loyalty. Rainbow had been loyal since that very first night, faltering but never failing to live up to her element. Even in her last act, Rainbow had proven her loyalty with her life.

"But she wasn't trying to live up to an Element." Twilight whispered. She remembered the posters she'd seen in Ponyville and Canterlot, forcing loyalty on Equestria, claiming it was a virtue.

But... but Rainbow wasn't loyal because it was a virtue. She was loyal because she cared about Twilight, and all her friends. Her loyalty was guided by friendship...

"Guided by friendship... friendship is the spark, of course!" Twilight exclaimed, her sadness banished by a soaring hope. She brought the Element of magic near the blue lightning bolt necklace, and the two inset jewels began to glow warmly. Electricity seemed to spark between them as the Element of Magic conferred its power on the Element of Loyalty. Rainbow's statue began glowing with bright light, and Twilight averted her eyes. She heard the distinct sound of glass shattering violently and was thrown back by the sheer force of it.

"Ugh... what happened?"

Twilight opened her eyes, and saw Rainbow Dash laying on the ground, surrounded by hundreds of shattered crystals.

"You-you were out for a little bit... but now you're okay." Twilight said softly, stating the obvious so she herself would believe it. She wiped away the remnants of her tears with the back of her hoof, trying to contain her urge to let more flow.

Dash groaned. "Of course I'm okay. I'm awesome!"

"Dash you're...." Daring cleared her throat, trying to maintain her cool demeanor. "Good to see you well Rainbow Dash." She turned to Twilight, looking very worried. "I found the source of our little dilemma here. They have some kind of magical energy cannon. Three of them."

Leaving Rainbow Dash to Daring's care, Twilight flew up into the air, trying to see clearly through the rain. At the base of the Crystal Palace were three, massive cannon structures, glowing with some kind of crystalline power. Just behind them, the Crystal Heart spun between two icicles, surrounded by a blue force field. This Crystal Heart looked... sad. Pieces of the top were chipped off and broken, and the heart's glow was dim, like a failing light bulb. With a sick feeling in her stomach, Twilight realized the cannons were powered by pieces of the Crystal Heart. Love magic, twisted in a sick, depraved way to use as a weapon.

Twilight soared towards the cannons, ready to blow them to bits. As she approached, she saw the cannons unload another volley of crystal bolts toward her friends. One of them just missed Pinkie Pie, instead hitting and destroying her party canon. She shook her hoof in anger and quickly pulled out another one. Just like Pinkie to bring a spare.

Hovering over the massive cannons, Twilight channeled her magic and sent a bolt of power down at them. There was a loud, satisfying explosion, radiating out a massive magical shock wave. After the magic cleared away however, Twilight was shocked to see the cannons completely unaffected, a shimmering pink shield encompassing them. A shield, which could only be created by one pony. Twilight landed as A-Shining Armor watched her expectantly.

"Surrender Twilight." he said sternly. "Even if you aren't from this world, you're still my sister, and I don't want to fight you. But I won't hesitate to protect my subjects. "

"Protection. Shining Armor, is the world you've made even worth protecting anymore?" Twilight asked, looking at the broken Crystal Heart.

Shining saw where she was looking, and his expression turned slightly regretful. "We've made sacrifices, but we've managed to save everypony-"

"And in turn you've made them miserable." Twilight interrupted. "You say you're saving everypony, but you've taken away everything that makes life worth saving. "

"That's easy to say when you haven't lost anything yet!" Shining said harshly. Twilight backed up a few steps, surprised by his tone. He pointed to his cutie mark, the same blue shield surrounded by purple stars Twilight's Shining Armor had. "Protection is my special talent Twily. PROTECTION! But I couldn't protect Princess Celestia. I'm never going to let anypony else down again!"

"You already have." Twilight said sadly.

"I thought you would understand Twilight, I thought maybe you could see how much better we could make your world." Shining shook his head. "I guess you really aren't the sister I know and love... Twily"

Twilight looked away, unable to bear looking at this... imitation of her brother. But he was still her brother, by name at least. "Please, Shining Armor, just let us go back to our world and we can end this. I don't want to fight you."

"If you won't fight, it makes taking you down even easier." Shining Armor advanced toward her, levitating his spear.

Gritting her teeth, Twilight fired a bolt of magic at A-Shining. The bolt collided with Shining Armor's signature pink shield, doing nothing to stop him. Desperately, she fired bolt after bolt, trying to drive A-Shining back. Her magic simply deflected off of the shield, barely slowing him down. Twilight took a deep breath, and focused her magic again, this time in a constant stream of power. A-Shining staggered, dropping his spear but still making steady progress toward her.

The Element of magic called to her, asking Twilight to use her full power as an Alicorn, to blast away the threat without hesitation. She resisted, as images of her battle with Tirek flashed through her head, tinted red with anger. Twilight saw her friends running away in fear, unknowing if even they were safe from Twilight's wrath. Fear and power tugged Twilight in opposite directions, as Twilight desperately tried to keep A-Shining back.

Then, just like that, it ended. A-Shining flicked his horn, and a wall of pink energy crashed into Twilight. She landed roughly on the ground, her magic feeling drained and unreachable.

A-Shining stood over Twilight, looking down at her with disappointment. "You know why you lost? It's because you care about not hurting me. And that's exactly why you don't have what it takes to protect your friends."

"Lucky for me, I don't have that problem!"

Twilight heard a loud bang and Shining Armor cry out. She opened her eyes, and saw Starlight Glimmer standing beside her protectively. She offered a hoof, and Twilight took it, slowly getting up despite the throbbing pain in her side. A-Shining was sprawled on the ground a few feet away, looking dazed.

Thunder cracked overhead as the rain intensified, coming down in a torrential burst. Twilight's mane felt wet and soggy, draping over her like a messy blanket.

"Are you okay?" Starlight asked quietly. She didn't look much better than Twilight felt, with the rivulets of water dripping down her mane forcing her to push it back over her head rather than let it hang as she normally did.

With a shaky breath, Twilight nodded. She focused her magic on the crystal cannons, pulling out three glowing shards of the Crystal Heart.

Starlight looked slightly surprised. "What do we need those for?"

"Maybe if we restore the Heart, it can reveal the light and love the crystal ponies buried within themselves, like Cadence's spell used to." Twilight answered.

"Do you really think that'll be enough?" Starlight asked cautiously.

"Cadence, the real Cadence once told me that love and understanding exist buried within the darkest hearts. All you need to do is bring it to the surface." Twilight replied, quoting her sister-in-law's words fondly.

Before she could answer, Starlight was blasted back by a blue ray of magic. A-Cadence landed in front of them, glancing sadly at her husband's limp form.

"I used to think that too. But then I realized that love can't solve everything Twilight. If you really love your friends, and want them to be safe, you have to be willing to fight the dark, with the dark."

"Then you're no better than King Sombra."

Surprisingly, Cadence chuckled. "Sombra was right, in one way. Fear is more effective than love. But I'm not Sombra Twilight. I care about my subjects, and if fear is what it takes to keep them safe, then so be it."

"You were supposed to protect the Crystal Heart! How could you use it as a weapon?" Twilight asked, unable to bear Cadence's words.

Cadence's expression changed from pity, to anger. "I won't let the changelings hurt anyone I love again!" she yelled.

"But at what cost? Look at what you're doing!"

"Yes look at what we're doing! We've brought peace and Harmony to our world, while Chrysalis managed to kidnap everyone you love and feed on them in yours. Whether you like it or not Twilight, you're going to accept our help. You need it."

Twilight had learned her lesson from hesitating before. She didn't bother responding, instead shooting a large blast of purple energy right at Cadence. In a swift movement, Cadence dodged and shot a web of black magic.

Before Twilight could redirect her own magic, the black web hit her in the chest. Instantly her body went numb, and Twilight felt herself frozen in place, unable to channel her magic, move her hooves or even speak.

Cadence trotted up to her with a sad smile. "Paralysis spell. Thought you might like to watch as we defeat your friends. One last memory of them before we repurpose you. Our Twilight thought she could convince you without magic, but I don't think she'll mind."

The lightning from the storm above seemed to crackle deafeningly, and the sky darkened until it was pitch black. Twilight felt a dark, foreboding presence, as if the void beyond Equus was stretching out its black talons. Cadence seemed to feel the change too, and looked up at the sky nervously.

Amongst the raging storm, was the dark outline of an alicorn, glowing with power. Its eyes shone with bright, magical light, which illuminated a dark blue mane that seemed to move of its own accord, glittering like the night sky.

"PRINCESS MI AMORE CADENZA! WE HAVE COME TO PASS JUDGEMENT FOR YOUR CRIMES AGAINST EQUESTRIA!" The voice was so loud, it seemed to shake the sky itself.

Cadence flew up into the air until she was level with the challenger, staring directly into her face.

"Luna? But how... you're..." Cadence seemed at a loss for words

"Twilight and her friends revived Us, and told Us of the terrible things you've done to Our subjects!" Luna said angrily.

"What but... you're a traitor!" Cadence said hesitantly, shaking her head as if she was trying to make sense of she was seeing. "You betrayed Equestria and- and..."

"I am no traitor! You are the one who has betrayed the very values you claim to represent! You betrayed the love and devotion of the ponies of Equestria! You are an insult to my Sister's legacy!" Luna shot a beam of dark blue magic, which Cadence met half way with her own.

"Betrayed?! I've given up everything to protect my subjects because I love them!"

"Love isn't just protection! Love is mercy and forgiveness! The same mercy and forgiveness my Sister extended to me! Anger and loss have twisted your mind Cadence, and you have fallen from love, to obsession!"

Cadence's eyes narrowed angrily as she strained to hold be Luna's magic. Twilight could only guess that Luna's words brought years of hurt and guilt to the surface, dangerously breaking Cadence on an emotional level. Cadence's blue magic turned pure black, smoking with dark energy. It began slowly pushing Luna's beam back even as the Princess of the Night grit her teeth and put all her effort into keeping up her defenses.

Twilight looked away from the dueling alicorns over to where her friends were fighting Cadence's army. The rebels and her friends were doing their best, but they were severely outnumbered. To make things worse, several of the citizens had open their doors to see what was going on. They were caught in the fray, panicking as Twilight's friends attempted to protect them. The guards seemed to have no regard for the citizen's safety, instead fighting with an unnatural anger and intensity, the result being cut off from the Crystal Heart for so long. They advanced on her friends, slowly cornering them.

Unless Twilight did something soon... they were going to lose this battle. Problem was, she couldn't move.

Starlight groaned softly, trying to clear her head as she got her hooves. Cadence's stunning spell had been exceptionally strong, and it left a painful throbbing in Starlight's head. The wind roared in her ears, eclipsed only by loud crackling from the sky. Looking up, Starlight saw Cadence fighting another, slightly larger alicorn. So Luna had decided to help them after all.

Unfortunately, Luna was losing the battle above, struggling to fight Cadence's rage fueled dark magic as it pushed her own back. In a few minutes, she wouldn't be able to defend herself and the unthinkable could happen. Starlight blinked, trying to clear her eyes and find Twilight. Shielding her eyes against the rain curtain with a hoof, Starlight saw Twilight standing a few feet away, unmoving. She inched toward her, trying to ignore the pained protests of her body as it suffered the cold, merciless rain and wind.

Twilight seemed frozen, an expression of shock and dismay etched onto her face. Starlight recognized the paralysis spell, having studied dark magic before she met Twilight. It wasn't something she liked to think about. Dark magic was powered by negative emotions, something Starlight had had plenty of back in those days. But after talking to her counterpart, at least Starlight knew that there was an eye among the storm of her past. Concentrating, Starlight cast a counterspell, hoping that it would be strong enough to undo Cadence's magic. As the blue magic washed over her, Twilight took a sharp breath, immediately collapsing onto the crystal ground.

"That- that was some really strong dark magic." Twilight said hoarsely, trying and failing to get to her hooves. She didn't have her usual expression of determination. Her voice was tired and devoid of emotion, almost mechanical.

"Maybe I could levitate you?" Starlight suggested, looking at her mentor worriedly. The spell had clearly affected Twilight badly, but she also seemed emotionally drained as well. Having to fight both her brother, and Cadence had clearly had an averse affect.

"I-I can walk if you help me." Twilight muttered. Starlight nodded, lifting her up and letting Twilight lean on her for support. "We've got to get to the Heart. It's the only way to end this." Twilight said quietly.

Starlight trotted over to the glowing force field, managing to shut it down with a blast of her magic. As they approached the Heart, Starlight knew it had seen better days. Not only were parts of it cracked off by Cadence, but the artifact lacked its usual aura of light and love. Cadence had forsaken those long ago, in exchange for the power offered by fear and dark magic.

Carefully, Starlight levitated the three crystal shards into place, channeling a reliquary reconstruction spell. The Heart seemed to glow slightly brighter, but the pieces wouldn't attach.

"It's not working! I don't have enough power!" Starlight said frantically.

Twilight looked at her weakly, still leaning on Starlight for support. "Together."

"Together." Starlight agreed. The aura around the Heart turned a mix of purple and blue,

As they focused their energy on the Heart, memories flashed through Starlight's mind. Not memories of her past mistakes and despair that Starlight was used to reminiscing about, but more recent, happy memories. She remembered laughing with Twilight in the library as they recounted her crazy adventures in world of Canterlot High. She remembered baking with Pinkie Pie, working on the farm with Applejack, and all her friendship lessons, including "chillaxing" with Rainbow Dash (whatever that meant). She saw Twilight's hoof, reaching out among a sea of darkness and despair. Starlight grabbed it and it pulled her up, making her feel like she was finally coming up for air after a long time underwater.

Her past could no longer control her, no longer drag her back into its abyss of sorrow. She had confronted her shadow, and found its light. She was free.

White light burst out of the Heart, blasting Starlight and Twilight back. Their coats and manes instantly dried off, shining with crystal magic. Starlight watched as the pulse of magic spread across the Crystal Empire. In the sky, just as Luna's magic seemed at the point of failing, Cadence's ray of dark magic faded away, banished by the Heart's power. Luna didn't hesitate, imprisoning Cadence in a force field. Meanwhile, the wider battle ceased as the guards' coats shimmered brightly, and their anger was cleared away.

With the imprisoned Cadence floating by her side, Luna flew up over the crystal ponies, saying something Starlight couldn't make out. The storm faded away, replaced by a beautiful blue sky, filled with a stream of colors from the Heart's magic. Starlight heard loud cheers, the voices of their friends celebrating.

Suddenly she felt herself pulled into a warm hug. Twilight smiled at her, healed by the Heart's magic. Starlight smiled back, and together they looked out at the colorful sky. The dawn of a better day.