Twilight and Spike appeared in the middle of a street. They let out a yelp and looked around, trying to identify where they were. Then the alicorn's eyes widened. “O-oh no. We're... we're in Canterlot,” she said softly. “Before I wrecked it.”
That made the dragon tense. She held him close. “Calm down. It'll be fine. We... we just have to find Rarity. It'll be okay.” She started trotting. The streets were filled with ponies, but the two barely got second glances. She gave the ponies nervous glances.
“Are... are all those Discord?” Spike asked softly.
“I... don't think so. I mean, I think his essence can take them over, but I don't think he is actually... controlling them at all times. Notice how they barely look at us? I think they're more or less on auto pilot at this point. For now, they aren't a threat.” She took a slow breath. “Rarity is the princess, so let's try the castle.”
“Do... do you think Nightmare Moon is here?” Spike asked fearfully as he moved close to her.
“Maybe. If this nightmare is anything like the others... well, there's no telling what could happen. Nightmare Moon, Solar Flare. Even Trixie. Possibly Sombra. We'll have to be careful.” She looked around at the streets as they went. The ponies looked so happy. Pegasi, unicorn, earth pony. All working together. There were soldiers, but they didn't look angry or scary. They were laughing and talking. It all seemed so nice and happy. She just waited for the hammer to fall.
Maybe Rarity was a captive, imprisoned inside. Maybe she was a traitor. Maybe she was at war with the Water Nation and was trying to conquer them, waging war on peaceful ponies. Maybe--
“She's beautiful...” Spike said suddenly. Twilight looked up and gasped. There was a parade in the middle of the street, surrounded by the city's ponies. Rarity, Sweetie, Luna and Sombra were all standing on one of the carriages, waving to all the happy ponies. The mares were all wearing dazzling blue and black dresses, with golden crowns on their heads.
Twilight's mouth nearly hit the ground. “She's... she's a princess here. What is-- eep!” She was shoved aside by one of the parade goers. The alicorn scooped up Spike onto her back. “Well, we're going to try the direct approach. Again. Hopefully it works like...” she paused. “Well, it never works immediately. But it does in the end!” She flapped her wings and took off, soaring over the crowd.
She was promptly tackled from the sky, letting out a yelp as the Shadowbolt held her down. “No pony interrupts the royal family,” the pegasus said. Twilight awaited the bending removing taps, but they never happened. “Understand?”
Twilight gulped and slowly nodded. The Shadowbolt quickly flew up and away.
“Smooth,” Spike said with a groan as he picked himself up. “Plan b?”
“Yes... break in, I guess,” Twilight muttered. “Ow.”
“I was thinking more sneaking in. Wings and all. Does your bending work?”
Twilight frowned and tapped the ground, her hoof going through it easily and forming a small indent in the dirt. “Yep.”
“Go under, then?”
“No!” the alicorn said quickly. “There's probably so much magicked water under this place that we'd be caught in seconds, possibly killed. At the very least, drowned. Not to mention all the alarms. I might not be able to bend it right, either.”
“Fly then?”
“Shadowbolts,” she muttered, looking up. There were quite a few pegasi up there, though they didn't seem too focused on her. The place seemed so peaceful, calm. Quiet. The parade was ending and the ponies were beginning to separate as the massive city gates closed.
“So... blow our way in?”
Twilight nodded. “I... suppose we don't have much choice.” She glanced above. “Perhaps wait until night falls.” She trotted away, looking around. It was so calm, peaceful and... normal. Like it had likely been a little over a hundred years ago. What horrors had to be going on in those halls?
------
Twilight let out a gasp, her eyes filled with wonder as she watched the unicorns slowly raising the moon up from behind the mountains. She'd never really had time to see the spell in effect, so it was quite the wondrous sight. She wished she could have had more time to watch it, but alas they needed to move. Their friends were counting on them.
She trotted towards the main gate, her eyes focusing on the small door on the side. She'd have to use her air bending to blast through it, or maybe fire bend to make an explosion to burst the gate open. Maybe she could surround herself in thick winds and fly over the gate. Or maybe--
“Oh my, the avatar?” one of the guards asked, bowing as she came through. “Please, allow us.” The gate began to open. She paused and stared. Or maybe they could just let her right in.
“W-what? You're just going to let me in? Not challenge me? Try to fight me? Try to kill me?”
“Of course not! Why ever would we? Please, come in.” The guard motioned inside. “I can escort you to the royal family.”
She looked back to Spike. He shrugged. “Why look a gift horse in the mouth? Let's go.”
Twilight gave a slow nod before trotting in through the gate and into the main courtyard. Her wings twitched as she awaited some kind of ambush. Instead the guard trotted besides her, motioning to the castle. “I assume you're here to see her majesty, Queen Luna? It's not very often the Avatar herself comes to visit us.”
“Err... no. Princess Rarity, actually,” Twilight said softly, confusion still etched on her face. None of this felt right. Everypony was just too nice. They weren't trying to tear her apart, or fight her, or anything. It was... easy. Easy was almost never good, in her experience. They could see her, too. So she knew it wasn't something with her being invisible.
“Oh. I'll take you to the queen,” the guard said, his tone sounding confused.
Twilight let out a sigh of relief. Of course, they were all still on auto pilot. The corruption didn't seem to be aware of her. Yet. Maybe it thought she was part of it still? She glanced back to Spike and gave a wink. “Will her entire family be there?”
“The king will be.”
“I have matters to discuss with her daughter, as well. Will she attend?”
There was a momentary pause, before the guard nodded. “I'm sure she can be summoned.” As they trotted to the castle, he called out to one of the servants. “The avatar has come to speak with all of the royal family. Please inform them that she will be waiting in the throne room.” The servant nodded and ran off.
Twilight pulled Spike a little closer, a wing going over him. She didn't like this, not at all. It was too easy. Discord never made things easy. Well, he did. But it was usually when there was a trick or something. She was led to the throne room and sat down, her wings poised and ready to strike if there was an ambush.
Instead, after a few minutes the doors behind the thrones opened and out they stepped. All four members of the royal family. Luna looked kind and sweet, as she guided her daughters towards their smaller thrones. Sombra looked... well, not quite as terrifying. He didn't seem vengeful or murderous at all, instead like a loving, caring father. Handsome, too. They took their places and looked down at her.
Twilight's eyes were drawn to Rarity. The unicorn looked happy. Truly happy. At least, for a moment. Her horn was undamaged as well. Then the princess' eyes focused on the alicorn and she looked worried. The avatar took a slow breath before speaking. “Your... highnesses. I have come to speak with Rarity alone, please. I tried to tell the... guards, but they ignored me.”
“If you have words to speak with her, you may speak with us all,” Luna said, her eyes narrowing on her for a moment. Twilight gulped. There was that little hint of Nightmare Moon in them.
“Mother, I'll deal with this,” Rarity said suddenly, before getting to her hooves. “If it pleases you?”
The queen glared at Twilight. “It does not. I--”
“Please.”
There was a moment of silence, before the queen nodded. “Very well. Do... as you will.”
Rarity nodded and got to her hooves, before trotting towards the two and giving a smile. “Twilight, please come with me.” She walked briskly out from the room.
The alicorn nodded and followed after her. She was led through the castle, up into the higher halls and finally into the princess' room. Rarity gave a soft sigh before trotting to the window and looking out over the world. “You shouldn't have come here.”
Twilight nodded. “Okay, Rarity. I know this is going to sound weird, but this is all fake. I don't know what you've seen, but this is all an illusion by Discord. You need to break free of it.”
The princess shook her head. “Oh Twilight, you don't understand.”
“I understand perfectly. Please, I don't know... what it is in this world holding you, but you need to fight it. It's dampening your element and... and...” Twilight's mouth slowly fell open. She stared at the mare as the pieces started to fall into place. “You... you already know, don't you?”
“Of course,” Rarity said with another sigh.
“But... but how?”
“I've already had this dream once. I never wanted to wake up. How could I not notice when it came back?” She turned back to Twilight. “Discord has already beaten us, why keep fighting?”
“WHAT?” Both Spike and Twilight said in unison.
The alicorn gulped and quickly spoke up. “He hasn't won, he--”
“You're here to free me, aren't you?” Rarity asked before looking back out the window. “You wouldn't have to free me if we hadn't been defeated. Face it, Discord is stronger than us. We can't defeat him. Why try again?”
“No no. Please, Rarity. Whatever he's tricked you with, it's all lies. You need to fight it. I know it must be scary, but--”
“Scary?” Rarity asked with a light giggle. “You don't know the meaning of the word.” She turned back to the alicorn. “Look around you. This is everything I ever wanted. Everything I ever dreamed of. My parents are here, both alive and well. Themselves. Kind, loving. My... sister is the little filly I always knew. I can do things right this time, I don't ignore her. There's no war, there's no pain.” She turned back to the window. “Look out, over my kingdom. Can't you see? This is right. This is the way the world should be. The way the world once was. Would have been if my mother hadn't been...” She gave a bitter laugh. “And you want me to throw it all away, why? So we can fight a foe we've already been crushed by?”
Twilight slowly stepped forward. “No, listen. I... I understand. The real world isn't perfect, but it--”
“NO, YOU DON'T!” Rarity screamed before turning on the alicorn. “I lost everything when I joined you. No, before that. I lost everything when I spoke out. I lost my mother. My sister. My father. EVERYTHING! Do you have any idea how many cold, horrible nights I laid out, curled up and sobbing, wishing for even a small fraction of this?” She stepped towards the avatar, making her back up. “I thought I finally got it, when I... when I fought you. But it wasn't good then, either. My mother, my sister. Everything was wrong. Everything was tainted, ruined. Do you know what it's like to dream of something almost your entire life, then finally get it? Only to find out it was nothing but a dried, shriveled husk of what it was supposed to be?” The rage billowed off the mare, making both her guests back against the wall. “I gave everything I had left. My throne, my people. Just so I could help you.” Tears began to flow down her face. “And... and what did it cost me? We've lost. It's over. We were defeated. Discord won. But... but it's not so bad.” She turned towards the window again. “This world is all I wanted. All I ever wanted. And you want me to give it up again? To lose all I finally have on some fool hardy attempt to defeat something we've already lost to?”
“It's not real, though,” Twilight said softly.
“This is better than the real world. It's real enough,” Rarity said softly. “My mother, my sister, what's happened to them now?”
“They're under... Discord's control. We need you to--”
“My father, what of him?”
“He... he's dead. You know that.”
“Of course he is. That is very much the point.” Rarity let out a soft sigh. “This world is perfection. Everything I've ever wanted is right here, firmly within my grasp. No more pain, no more fighting. Nothing. All I have to do is enjoy it. You wish for me to give this up, for what? A chance that we can maybe make a world that isn't horrible? That maybe we can defeat Discord? That maybe we can fix this broken world? So we can keep fighting, forever, to get a world that is nothing but a bleak shadow of this one?” She looked to Twilight again. “Tell me truthfully, Twilight. If you were given a chance to be with your ponies again. Without this war, without this pain and suffering. Would you take it? Or would you toss it all away, giving up everything you'd lost for a second time, just for a bleak chance that you might be able to make a world worse than what you already have?”
Twilight opened her mouth to respond, before slowly lowering her gaze. “But… none of this is real. There are ponies truly suffering, going through--”
“There are always ponies suffering. There were before you were born, during your quest, every day of every year. I can't fix everything. We can't fix everything. But this is my chance. My one and only chance to have what I wanted. And you want me to just toss it away so maybe I can make the world a slightly better place?” Rarity shook her head. “No. Leave. I have nothing for you.”
Twilight took a step forward. “NO! I refuse. Rarity, you're in a dream. None of this is real. But out there, in the real world? Ponies are fighting. They're dying. We need you. We can't do this without you. Your sister--”
“I don't care!” Rarity screamed, stomping a hoof down. “I won't give this up. I can't. If I do, what is the point of all the fighting I've done? The pain, the suffering? So I could be the princess of a broken, damaged country? I never wanted that. I wanted my family and this is the only place I can have them!”
“That doesn't matter, this isn't a real family. You have a real sister, Sweetie Belle. A real mother, Luna. If you don't come with me, you're as much damning them to be Discord's servants forever as if you'd done the magic yourself! Stop feeling sorry for yourself and do what has to be--”
“NO!” Rarity screamed, stomping a hoof. “Enough, Twilight. LEAVE!”
“W-what?” Twilight said, blinking a few times as she felt a tug on her body. “Wait, Rarity, don't. Please, we still--”
“I don't care! GO!” the unicorn screamed again, tears forming in her eyes. The alicorn let out a shriek as she felt her body being tugged, and then thrown out. “This… this is my dream and I don't want you h-here,” she said weakly. She walked back to the window and laid her head against it, trying to hold her tears back. Her body shook as she looked out over the world. It was her world. Her dream. There was no point in going back.
“Um...” a soft voice spoke up. She turned and saw Spike, standing just a few feet from her.
“W-what? Are you going to t-tell me to give this up too?” Rarity asked, glaring down at him.
“No,” Spike said softly, before pulling the necklace off from his neck. He reached up and gently put it around her neck. “I... I kept it safe for you.” He chewed on his lower lip. “And... and if I had the choice, I'd of done the same. Stayed in... stayed where everything was safe.” He took a step back. “Can... you send me back with Twilight, please? They'll need me.”
Rarity stared down at the necklace, before looking back to Spike. She held out a hoof. “Go,” she finally said. The dragon disappeared.
She stared at the empty room, before gently stroking the necklace around her neck. She was doing the right thing. They couldn't win anyway. So why should she give up what she'd always wanted?