The Town of Friendship

Twilight and her counterparts quickly thrust themselves into a furious battle with Lilly and Shining Armor. The two evil ponies were an army unto themselves, unleashing vicious attack after vicious attack and drawing a lot of blood in the process. Twilight saw the great white and blue mares slashing and parrying with the evil queen in a horrific horn duel. “Equestria is OUR home!” The white mare said, “and you will not overtake it!”

“It’s too late, Celestia!” Lilly shrieked, “I rule this world! I am YOUR GOD!”

“You’re no god to me!” The blue one shouted as she stabbed deep into Lilly’s flank, “you’re a perpetrator of evil and you must be stopped!”

Lilly howled as blood flowed from the fresh wound, but she gritted her teeth and turned to meet her opponent. She growled as she and the blue mare shot lethal magic beams at each other. Wave after wave of sparkling, deadly mysticism parted the tips of their horns. But they found themselves to be evenly matched, and soon the volleying died down.

Meanwhile, Twilight found herself and Starlight locked in a battle of their own, only theirs was against her brother. She had tried reasoning with him, she tried scolding him, she even tried silently pleading with him. But nothing, it seemed, could rip him away from his new status. His brain was laced with power, and it was poisoning him from the inside out. I’ve heard the phrase “absolute power corrupts absolutely” before, Twilight thought as she and Starlight dodged his contemptuous hoof swipes, I just never thought I’d use it to describe somepony who was once so amazing and wonderful.

Her mind was a whirl as she stabbed her brother with her horn. He howled in pain, and she couldn’t help but feel a searing ache in her heart as he did so. This was still her brother, after all. He was a part of her, and she still felt somewhat of a threadbare connection with him. Even after he had confessed to killing their father and raping and murdering their mother, she still felt something for him. Why?! She asked herself, why do I feel this way?! He’s done horrible things! I should hate him! But…I don’t. Is it simply because he was always there for me as a filly? Why?

She backed away from him, suddenly reluctant to take any more hunks of flesh from his frame. Her lip quivered as she looked at the ground. Tears came to her eyes and she gritted her teeth together before dropping to her stomach and crying aloud. Her cries shook the cavern, and the fighting ponies stopped. They looked at her in astonishment. Never before had they heard such a deep display of sorrow and heartache.

“Shining Armor,” she said as she slowly got back to her hooves, “you’re my brother…and I can’t fight you. I just can’t! It was wrong when we fought before, and it’s still wrong now!”

“Wrong?!” He asked, “if it’s so wrong, then why does it feel so right? Every time my hoof or my horn scored across that pathetic little face of yours, I felt a new sense of power! POWER-!”

“I GET IT!” She screamed, causing him to flinch, “you want power! I understand that! But what matters more, your family or that lust?” She began stepping towards him, and her eyes glowed as she did so. “I know what matters more,” she said, “and I’m willing to give you the chance to do the right thing. That doesn’t mean you won’t be punished when all is said and done, but you’ll still know you’ve done right by me and by everypony else! When will you open your heart to friendship? When will you allow Lilly’s influence to fade away?”

“She’s the only pony I’ve ever loved!” Shining shouted.

“It’s a fake love!” Twilight shouted back, “you can’t possibly tell me that you approve of the way she runs things! She murders the weak and castrates the strong! She forces everypony to the same level of grime and muck, and we’re all miserable! It’s time for a new dawn in our nation…my question is…will you join us?”

She held out her hoof and silently begged him to make the right choice. Once again, his eyes wavered and she thought she saw the wonderful brother she had known. His breaths were rapid and short, and he gulped with nervousness. She could tell that the decision was ripping him apart, and she hoped that it would cause his heart to molt from the cocoon of hatred into the open air of friendship. She broke into a smile when he took her hoof and gathered her into a hug. His tears were many and very repentant as they fell down her back.

“I’m so sorry,” he said, “I’m a terrible pony. I’ve done unspeakable things…and if you wish to kill me, then I accept that.”

“I’m gonna leave that up to them,” she said, pointing to the great mares who had stopped their battle with Lilly and were watching the scene with great anticipation, “but know that you have a sister who believes in the power of forgiveness. I forgive you, Shining Armor. I still hate with a passion every despicable act you committed, but I’m willing to start things over. Let’s be siblings again.”

He smiled at her and she felt her heart soar with excitement. She had her brother back! After years of not knowing if he had died or not, and after a long two days of fighting him, she finally broke through. His stone wall crumbled around him, and she beheld her beloved sibling once again. She couldn’t help but weep tears of joy at his redemption, and she quickly nuzzled him, just as she did when she was small. The bond between them was no longer threadbare. It was as strong as it had ever been. In fact, it might have even grown stronger.

But there was one pony there who was not so thrilled. Queen Lilly was outraged. Her husband, and the father of her foals, had turned his back on her in favor of being friendly and honest. Her mane began to flow in pure flames, and her coat became too hot to touch. She breathed fire and, before the eyes of the terrified ponies beneath her, she transformed into a mighty dragon.

“What…the…hay?” Twilight gulped.

“I had no idea she could do that!” Pinkie Pie said from her spot a little way off, “I mean, I knew she was an evil, ferocious, meanie-pants, but I didn’t see this coming!”

“My sister,” the white mare, Celestia, said, “this is what we’ve been waiting for! A chance to defend our beloved home from evil once again!”

“This is no longer your home,” the dragon growled as its forked tongue lashed out in anger, “this is MY domain! I am Lilly, ruler of heaven and Earth, and I shall destroy you!”

With that, she bent down and a ball of fire came forth from her mouth. Celestia and her sister quickly used their magic to protect everypony and then flew over to Twilight and her brother. “Shining Armor,” Celestia said, “I am pleased with the decision you’ve made. We’ll discuss your punishment later, but for now, we need your help!”

He nodded with fierce determination in his eyes, and Twilight smiled. She was excited to be able to stand with her brother in defense of everypony, instead of fighting over the throne. This is what true friendship is, she said to herself as she saw everypony lining up to face the horrible monster, and now we have a team that’s unbeatable!

“CHARGE!” Celestia yelled again and the group raced towards the beast. They surrounded it, and the unicorns in the group began firing off lethal blasts towards its flank. Starlight directed them profusely, and they did everything she asked. But the hardened scales redirected them right back to the source, and the ponies had to duck and dodge as the blasts bounced wildly around the cavern.

Shining Armor led the stallions on a brave frontal assault, and they managed to cut away at the scales, revealing soft flesh underneath. Once there, they stabbed and slashed at it until blood ran red on the ground. But the dragon formerly known as Lilly didn’t seem to feel it, as she continued to rain fire upon everypony. The flames licked at the brave combatants, and one by one, they fell. Twilight looked around and saw her friends being burned alive, and she threw herself wholeheartedly into the fray.

She and Celestia and Luna flew up to the dragon’s face and shot beams into her eyes, blinding her. She stumbled around for a bit, and that allowed Twilight to get in some slashes with her horn on the evil one’s throat. But the dragon quickly regained her vision, and chomped at the flying ponies with her sharp teeth. “You’ll never rule Equestria again,” she taunted in her now booming voice, “everypony is mine to command! Today, you will die!”

But the three Alicorns weren’t about to allow anypony else to perish, and they bravely flew in for another attack. They shot magic beam after magic beam at Lilly, and managed to leave some fresh wounds on her face once the scales had been stripped away. They kept her distracted from everything else going on down below, and Shining Armor and his group were able to get in a lot of slashes on the dragon’s back legs. They stung Lilly like a group of flash bees, and soon enough she wobbled and fell on her back.

Shining Armor leapt on top of her and sneered in her face. “You forced me to do things to hurt my friends and family!” He barked, “and now you’ll die for it!”

He raised his horn and went for the killing blow, but she grabbed him with a claw. “Oh, no, my Shining Armor,” she said devilishly, “it is you who shall die. You stabbed me in the back! We were going to rule Equestria with iron hooves together forever! Our bloodline was pure, and now you’ve diluted it by going to that pathetic, disgusting little peon you call a sister!”

“HOW DARE YOU SPEAK OF MY SISTER THAT WAY?!” Shining howled as he tried desperately to get out of her grasp, “SHE’S THE AUNT TO OUR FOALS!”

“DO YOU HONESTLY THINK I CARE ABOUT THOSE GOOD FOR NOTHING FOALS?!” The dragon screamed, “I NEVER DID! I NEVER ONCE CARED! THEY WERE MISTAKES! I SHOULD’VE GOTTEN RID OF THEM!”

Twilight and the other ponies gasped as Lilly’s true evil came to light. She was undoubtedly awful before, but never had she stretched out her hoof to hurt a foal. Now that she confessed that she was willing to hurt, maim, or kill anypony to acquire what her heart desired, it drove the energy and anger of everypony to a new level. Twilight’s mouth shook with rage and she found herself spreading her wings and lighting on the dragon’s stomach. Starlight wasn't far behind her, and the two gave Lilly a vicious look.

“Nopony…talks…about…MY NEICES LIKE THAT!” Twilight screamed as she took her horn and unmercifully dug it into Lilly’s heart and slashed right down the middle of her body. Starlight followed suit, and the best friends imparted every bit of their rage and sorrow into the attack. Lilly howled in pain as they continued their brutal assault. “TAKE IT, YOU EVIL WITCH!," Twilight shrieked with reckless abandon, "TAKE IT! TAKE OUR ANGER, TAKE OUR PAIN, TAKE OUR LOVE, TAKE OUR FRIENDSHIP, TAKE EVERY SINGLE BUCKING EMOTION WE HAVE! TAKE IT, AND GO TO HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

With that, Twilight yanked her horn out and watched as Lilly continued to bleed. Even as she was dying, the evil pony/dragon spouted curse after curse at Twilight, Starlight, and Shining Armor. “You…will…never…be…what…I…am,” she said defiantly as the life began to leave her, “you’ll soon…be…joining me…in the same…dirt covered hellhole. I hate...all three...of you. But most of all...I hate you, Twilight Sparkle.” With those words, her body stopped twitching and she died underneath their stern gaze.