A Better World

"Really Twilight couldn't you have made me another color?" Rarity whined, looking at her hoof.

"It's just a disguise Rarity." Applejack sighed.

"Yes but the glamour made you a lovely shade of red Applejack. Can I please be anything else except... green." Rarity said with distaste.

Twilight, now a bright pink unicorn with a blue mane, rolled her eyes. Her horn briefly flashed purple and Rarity's coat changed into a dark shade of blue. "Better?"

"Much. Thank you dear." Rarity said, smiling.

A bright blue earth pony with a candy pink mane bounced next to them. "Yay! We can be blue buddies Rarity!"

"I still don't understand why I couldn't change your mane Pinkie. It's almost like something was blocking my magic." Twilight wondered.

"I wish you hadn't changed my mane." a grey pegasus said as she hovered over them. "Having a rainbow mane is totally awesome!"

"I'm surprised the glamour was able to even change our cutie marks." an orange pegasus said softly, looking at her cutie mark of a watering can over a flower.

"The glamour didn't really change our cutie marks Fluttershy, it's more like... an aura, projecting out a false image of us." Twilight explained. "Hopefully it should be enough to keep ponies from recognizing us. Too bad I couldn't change our faces as well."

"I can barely recognize us as it is. If things get crazy it's better we can at least recognize each other." Rainbow reasoned.

Although her friends seemed to be very curious about their new appearances, Twilight knew what was really on their minds: Ponyville. It had been less than two days since she'd left home, but it felt like much longer. Ponyville, their Ponyville, was in an entirely different universe. Twilight felt homesickness overwhelm her as she thought of just how far away from home she really was. To make it worse, she was cut off from her only way back to her world. Twilight doubted pseudo-Cadence and Shining Armor would simply let them use the mirror to go home.

And yet here they were, walking towards the counterpart of the home they yearned to return to. Fate certainly had a cruel sense of irony. What would they find in this alternate Ponyville? Hundreds of horrible scenarios flashed through Twilight's mind. What twisted, cruel, depraved version of her home town would exist in this universe? Maybe her counterpart had put some horrible curse on the townsponies. Or maybe everypony was hateful and mean? Or maybe-

"Oof!" Twilight grunted as she bumped into Rarity. "Oh sorry Rarity, I wasn't looking where I was-" Twilight faltered as she looked ahead of her on the path. Rarity and the others looked on as well, not even paying Twilight any mind.

"It looks... normal." Rainbow said in a puzzled voice.

"Just like home..." Rarity observed, raising her eyebrows.

Pinkie tilted her head. "Ponyville looks like... Ponyville."

Twilight stared at the simple looking timber-framed houses with distinct thatched roofs. Ponies trotted by, going about their day, casually greeting each other along the way with friendly smiles.

"Well we can't just stand here. The library's at the other end of town... at least, it should be." Twilight said. They crossed a bridge over the small river that passed through Ponyville, looking around at the eerily familiar surroundings.

"Why are there royal guards here?" Applejack whispered pointing a hoof. Twilight turned to where her friend pointed, and sure enough, three royal guards stood absolutely still, watching the townsponies pass by. She noticed some of them glancing furtively at the guards, and quickening their pace. Twilight and her friends gave the guards a wide berth, keeping their heads down so the guards wouldn't see their faces.

As they trotted further into town, Twilight noticed that guards were stationed in almost every street, silently watching citizens pass by. A sense of tension and nervousness was almost palpable in the air.

"Loyalty." Pinkie muttered.

"What's that?" Rainbow asked, looking up.

"Loyalty." Pinkie said again.

"Uh, what do you mean darling?" Rarity pressed.

Pinkie pointed a hoof and Twilight turned her gaze. Her friend was pointing at a large cyan poster that was pasted onto the wall of a nearby house. A picture of alicorn Rainbow Dash took up most of the poster, showing her saluting with a determined expression on her face. Underneath the picture, LOYALTY was spelled out in bold, black letters. Twilight squinted to read the smaller text on the bizarre poster. 'Loyalty to Equestria is Harmony. Loyalty to Equestria is peace. All citizens are required to undergo loyalty checks at least once a week. Houses may be searched for treasonous materials at ANY time for ANY reason. Failure to comply is punishable by law. Only by ensuring our commitment to Equestria, can we reach toward a brighter future.'

"Look, there's another one!" Rainbow exclaimed. Twilight turned, and this time saw a different poster. Alicorn Applejack was plastered on a wall, with a firm, stern look. Beneath her, the word HONESTY was boldly printed in red. 'Honesty lights the path to a better Equestria. Report any potential rebel sympathizers to your nearest royal guard. Failure to do so is deemed treason and is punishable by jailtime and/or work camp detention. Only by rooting out lies and corruption can Equestria prevail.'

Applejack shook her head. "It's not right, it just ain't."

"Are you okay Applejack?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.

The apple farmer sighed sadly. "Ah always try to be honest myself, it- it's just the right thing to do. Ah try to encourage other ponies to be honest as well. Always drill it into Apple Bloom's head that honesty is the best policy. But this- this is horrible. They're forcing ponies to report each other. If anythin', that destroys trust rather than builds it."

"I know right!" Rainbow Dash said angrily. "Being loyal is one thing, but forcing ponies to be loyal like that is just... just crazy!"

Rarity looked up at the sky towards the bright morning sun. "I know they lost Princess Celestia, but to go this far... even over her..."

"It's not that far from what we do, if you think about it." Twilight said grimly.

"I'd rather not." Fluttershy muttered, massaging her temples.

"We'd better keep movin'. Ah don't wanna stick around this place any longer than ah have to." Applejack said, shaking her head. The posters became more and more frequent as they neared the center of town, interspersed with the occasional "kindness" poster, reminding ponies that owning pets was illegal, and 'reporting dissenters is the kindest thing you can do'.

The larger circular town hall came into view and Twilight knew they'd reached the center of own. Dozens of ponies trotted about, visiting stores like sofa+quills, and sugarcube corner.

"Remember, there are five government sponsored parties every month! Attendance and participation is mandatory for all citizens. Your government wants to ensure that Ponyville is fun, happy environment." a cheery voice said. Twilight looked up, and saw that a large, metal speakerphone mounted on a pole had made the announcement. "Your government wants to thank everypony who sacrifices their time and effort in labor camps. Only if we embrace the spirit of generosity, can we build a better Equestria."

"Ugh." Rarity grimaced. "It's not generosity if you're forced to give it up."

"Shh!" Twilight hissed, putting a hoof over Rarity's mouth. She glanced at the nearest guard, who thankfully seemed not to have heard them. The announcements droned on and on, as Twilight and the others made their way through the town center.

They were just about to pass sugarcube corner, when a familiar voice said, "-supposed to get our cutie marks if we can't do anything?!"

"Apple Bloom?" Applejack whispered. Twilight urgently waved a hoof, and they all quickly hid around a corner. Twilight craned her neck, straining to get a better view. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo all exited Sugarcube Corner with disgruntled expressions on their faces. Applejack and Rarity started forward, but Twilight held out a hoof to stop them, shaking her head.

Four armor clad guards trotted out of the bakery after the fillies with stern expressions. "I'm sorry ma'am," one of the guards said, "but you know the rules. No unsanctioned activities, no unsupervised outings, no-"

"Yeah, yeah, we know." Scootaloo sighed, looking down at her cutie markless flank.

Sweetie Belle looked up and gave a half hearted wave as Diamond Tiara passed by them. The pink filly brushed her mane aside and said, "Oh hey..." then snidely she added, "blank flanks." As soon as she said it, Diamond's eyes went wide and she covered her mouth.

The lead guard lit his horn, and Diamond Tiara was levitated into the air. Hoof cuffs appeared on her fore-hooves in bright flash. The filly shook her hooves frantically. "Please I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, honest! It was just force of habit. Please I'll apologize, whatever you want!" she pleaded, crying.

"Let her go! Please, I don't want this!" Apple Bloom begged the guard.

He shook his head. "Sorry miss, but the law's the law. Name calling is banned by order of Princess Fluttershy. The other guards will escort you home." The guard trotted off, with Diamond Tiara in tow.

"Oh dear... shouldn't we do something?" Rarity whispered.

"We can't blow our cover." Twilight replied. "The best thing we can do for her is get that book, and defeat the princesses once and for all." Rarity nodded glumly, and they trotted on. They walked in silence, trying to avoid looking at the dozens of Loyalty and Honesty posters plastered around them. Finally, the familiar giant tree that housed the Golden Oaks Library came into view.

Twilight stopped walking, and stared at the building. Memories flooded back, of all the good times she'd had here. Her first night in Ponyville, where Pinkie Pie had arranged a giant welcome party for her. Her first sleepover, where Applejack and Rarity had overcome their differences. The cute but silly jealousy of Spike when she adopted Owlowiscious. The library had been her first home, her anchor in Ponyville while trying to understand friendship. When Tirek destroyed it, Twilight felt like she'd lost a crucial part of herself. But here they were, in front of the same, exactly identical building like nothing happened. Twilight took a deep breath, and opened the wooden door.

Inside, the library looked pretty much as Twilight remembered it. Shelves of books were embedded into the tall, circular walls. The color scheme was a warm, inviting pink, enhanced by a painting of a glowing sun on the ceiling. Four small tables were carved into the floor, displaying the newest books added to the library (which weren't that new, as most ponies rarely used the library). A wooden ladder balanced precariously on one of the taller shelves, allowing earth ponies easy access to the top shelves. At the top of the ladder, a dark pink earth pony with a bright pink mane was busily rearranging a shelf. She turned around and smiled at the new arrivals.

"Welcome to the Golden Oaks Library! I'm Cheerilee, the librarian. Let me know if there's anything I can help you with."

"You're a librarian? But... I thought you were a teacher?" Rainbow asked.

Cheerilee laughed. "I used to teach a couple years ago, but after the education reforms, they didn't really need me, so I came here. I can still help fillies and foals learn just... in a different way."

"Education reforms?" Twilight queried. Cheerilee looked slightly confused. "We haven't been keeping up with news much, we're travelers." Twilight quickly said.

Cheerilee nodded, her expression turning slightly sad. "Well, that makes sense I suppose. When Princess Twilight took over, she made a standard curriculum for every school across Equestria to follow. She said it would make sure no foal was left behind. I think she called it common core or something like that. Anyway, I tried my best to teach it while allowing my students to show their creativity, but the school administrators weren't too happy. They... let me go."

"That's awful!" Twilight exclaimed, reaching out a hoof in sympathy.

"It's... probably for the best. It's Twilight of all ponies. If anypony knows about education, it's her. Say, you actually look alot like her." Cheerilee observed. "In fact, if you were lavender, I'd say you were the same pony."

Twilight chuckled nervously. "Yes, well I'm not lavender, so no need to worry about that."

"Well I need to finish sorting these books. Just tell me if you need anything." With that Cheerilee turned back to her work.

Twilight looked at her friends, but all she got was a few shrugs or shakes of the head. She waved a hoof, and her friends began looking for the Elements of Harmony book, scouring every part of the library.

While looking through the 'D' section, Rainbow spoke up. "Where are all the Daring Do books?" Twilight mentally facehoofed. That was the kind of question that would draw attention, which was exactly what they weren't trying to do.

Fortunately Cheerilee didn't seem suspicious. "Even though you're travelers, you really ought to catch up on the news. Not knowing some of this stuff might get you into trouble with the law. Daring Do is a wanted criminal, and besides, her books would probably end up being purged anyway."

"Purged?" Rarity asked.

"Ideological purge. Every month some representatives from Canterlot sift through the books and take every book that could possibly sow disharmony to Canterlot for storage." Cheerilee explained. While searching, Twilight had noticed many of her favorite books and encyclopedias missing, but she thought someone had just checked them out of the library. If they were even taking away books, things must be worse than she thought!

They continued searching, even pulling out drawers and looking in-between shelves. When Cheerilee wasn't looking, Twilight teleported herself upstairs. This was Cheerilee's personal living area, inherited from Twilight as the new librarian. There was a small shelf of books which Twilight rapidly sorted through. It seemed to be Cheerilee's personal collection, which consisted mostly of romance novels. Twilight wondered if maybe the CMC had been right to try and find Cheerilee a date on Hearts and Hooves day.

After searching a few more cabinets and even checking under the bed, Twilight came up with nothing. She teleported back down silently, and gave her friends a questioning look. They all shook their heads indicating they had no luck either. Twilight thanked Cheerilee as they left the old library.

"Well, that was a bust." Rainbow said disappointedly. "She must've taken it with her to Canterlot."

"It wasn't under 'E'..." Pinkie moped.

"But taking it to Canterlot would make it easier for somepony there to steal it." Twilight said, putting herself in, well, her own shoes. What would she do if she wanted to be able to access something, but have nopony else be able to find it? "She might've... hid it somewhere?"

"But where? We don't have time to search all of Ponyville." Fluttershy said sadly.

"It'd be a place that only she- no, only she and her friends knew about. The other element bearers would need to find it too." Twilight mused.

"She could've buried it somewhere?" Fluttershy suggested.

"Nah, ah doubt Rarity would be too keen on diggin in the dirt." Applejack added.

"Well some of us have standards." Rarity huffed.

Applejack smiled. "Ya see?"

Rainbow tapped a hoof to her chin. "Maybe Sweet Apple Acres?"

"No offense, Applejack, but I wouldn't put something that valuable within 500 yards of your sister, even if she is under 24 hour surveillance." Twilight said.

"No offense taken Twilight, she can be... quite a handful sometimes." Applejack grinned.

Twilight heard a loud rumbling sound. She looked around for the source, her gaze settling on Pinkie Pie rubbing her stomach.

"All this thinking is making me super hungry! Could we please stop at Sugarcube Corner for a snack Twilight? Pretty please with a cupcake on top??" Pinkie pleaded.

"Sorry Pinkie but I told you, we can't attract atten-" Twilight stopped midsentence as a revelation passed over her. "A place only they would know about... of course!"

"Whaddaya mean Twilight?" Applejack asked looking confused.

"Pinkie's party planning cave! It's the perfect hiding place because nopony in town knows about it! Even Mr. and Mrs. Cake didn't know!" Twilight exclaimed, dancing in triumph.

"Wait a sec, I'm not super clear on how all this timeline stuff works, but didn't Zecora say that this world's timeline diverged from ours two years ago? We found out about the cave more recently than that." Rainbow pointed out as she hovered above Twilight.

"But she could've still told them about it when they were looking for a place to hide the book. It's worth at least checking out." Twilight reasoned.

"How could she!" Pinkie lamented. "She broke the party pony oath of super secrecy!"

"Try saying that five times fast!" Rainbow joked, earning a dirty look from Twilight.

Twilight looked up at the sky, and saw that evening was quickly turning to night. "We'd better hurry. With the way things are going around here, I wouldn't be surprised if they had a curfew as well."

They galloped back the way they came, carefully avoiding the guards. Sugarcube Corner's lights were on, and a 'closed' sign hung over the front door. Twilight slowly levitated each of her non-flying friends through the upstairs window, hoping that the Cakes were in another room. Fortunately there weren't any other passerby out this late, or they might've alerted the guards that they were breaking and entering. Maybe her Ponyville did need a few guards after all, Twilight thought. She remembered the incident with Diamond Tiara, and quickly banished the thought from her mind.

After each of her friends were inside, Twilight teleported herself in as well. For once luck had favored them, and the Cakes were busy tending to their twin foals in another room. Twilight and her friends quietly tiptoed to Pinkie Pie's old room, and let themselves in. Surprisingly, the Cakes had left the room unchanged. Old streamers and deflated balloons were strewn across the floor, indicating alternate Pinkie Pie hadn't been to this room for a long time. A blue and pink balloon themed bed complimented the yellow walls and large windows, giving the room an energetic feel. A few random objects were placed around the room, including an old phonograph and more peculiarly, a rock, a bucket of turnips, a large piece of lint and a sack of flour.

Pinkie Pie looked around the room sadly, pushing aside the old party supplies abandoned by their previous owner. She trotted up toward a large ice cream cone statue beside the bed, and twisted it slightly. The floor opened up, revealing a small slide. Twilight promptly slid down it, followed by her friends.

The party cave wasn't in much better shape than the room above, looking decrepit and neglected. They poked around, looking through the various shelves and filing cabinets. A small hunch crept into Twilight's mind, and she stopped her methodical search. She walked over to the cabinet where she knew Pinkie kept files on the likes and dislikes of her closest friends. The cabinet creaked open, and sure enough, inside sat a brown volume, embossed with gold. The cover depicted a golden pony head with a blue jewel for its eye.

"I've got it!" Twilight yelled triumphantly, forgetting that the Cakes were just in the other room. Her friends quickly hurried over to her, looking at their prize.

Unfortunately their elation didn't last, as Mr. Cake yelled, "Who's there?! I'm calling the guards! Guards! Guards! We've got thieves!"

"Uh oh, that's not good." Pinkie whispered, as if it mattered now.

"Ah say we fight! With your alicorn magic Twi, we can take down a whole army of guards." Applejack said confidently.

Twilight shook her head. "We can't. If our counterparts find out we were here, they'd know what we stole and figure out our plan." She also didn't want to use her magic to stun several dozen guards who were just doing their jobs. If she did that, she'd be no better than this world's Twilight.

"Well we can't sneak out! The guards probably have the place surrounded by now!" Rainbow said frantically.

Twilight looked at the book in her hooves. She could feel the magic humming inside it. The book had an old, powerful connection to the Elements. When Starswirl wrote it, he had enchanted it so that only the Element Bearers could use the book's magic. Maybe, just maybe, they could pass for the Element Bearers. They were the same ponies after all, and they still represented the spirits of the elements. But the book only had spells that related to the elements, most of which could only be performed with the actual necklaces in hoof (except the locator spell). But maybe the book could still help her.

Twilight telekinetically twisted the ice cream cone statue above them, sealing the party cave. There were heavy footsteps as the guards searched Sugarcube Corner, room by room. She just hoped the Cakes wouldn't get in too much trouble if the guards didn't find anypony.

"Er, Twilight darling, you sealed the room which means they probably won't find us, but it also means we're trapped." Rarity said nervously.

"Maybe we could wait them out and escape in the morning?" Fluttershy asked hopefully.

"If we don't come back, the rebels might come and look for us. We can't risk them getting caught." Rainbow replied.

Twilight focused on the book, closing her eyes. She was the element of magic... she could feel the book's magic empowering her, filling her with the strength of the magic of friendship. She took a deep breath. It had never been done before, but if anypony could it, it was her. With a loud crack, purple light flashed through the cave, illuminating it for a brief second.

CRACK! They appeared at the outskirts of town, far away from Sugarcube Corner. The sun was setting, casting beautiful colors over Ponyville. Twilight had seen Ponyville sunsets almost every day of her life, but realized she had never stopped to admire them all that much. Celestia's handiwork was something many ponies took for granted, and never really paid much attention. Despite that, her mentor put in all her effort, to make each sunset beautiful and unique.

But then Twilight remembered who was controlling this sunset. Not Princess Celestia. A twisted, cruel version of her sister-in-law, Cadence. Twilight guessed it was probably her own counterpart that raised the moon, taking Luna's duties for herself. Though she probably didn't do so with the same care. Her alternate self probably didn't visit her subject's dreams, teaching them, assuaging their fears and battling their nightmares. She was too busy forcing Harmony on Equestria like a tyrant. To the point where nopony had any freedom. That was the bitter truth, and Twilight had to live with it.

"Twilight... woah, just... woah!" Rainbow said in awe.

"How in Equestria did you manage teleport us this far?!" Rarity asked, equally amazed.

Twilight felt a sharp pain in her head and the heavy curtain of drowsiness closing over her. The effects of magical overexertion. "The book." she said, holding it up. "It's connected to the Elements and has powerful magic of its own. I drew on its magic so I could power a long distance teleportation spell." She felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. "U-unfortunately... I think it's a one time thing."

Shaking herself awake, Twilight told herself she'd sleep only when the book was safely delivered back to Zecora's hut. They trotted off into the forest, as the sun finished setting behind them.

Princess Twilight smiled, looking up into her black, starry night as she raised up the moon. Everything was going as planned.