Starlight Glimmer sat on the far end of the playground as she took out her rubix cube. A gift from the only pony she ever had a friendship with. The only pony that had been able to put up with her shortcomings, and saw her for the wonderful young mare starlight could be. She lifted it up in her and began to twist and turn the block.
It had been over a month since she got it, a final gift from her, former, best friend, a earth pony named Kitty Cat. Ever since the two of them got their cutie marks, their lives had been different. In her mind, not for the better.
Even though it had only been few months since the two of them spent every moment trying to find out what their special talents were.
She could remember when she first met Cat, after she had stood up for her when some of the other kids were picking on her because they thought Cat’s name and large ears were funny. Starlight then spent a week in detention for how she reacted to the bullies, but to her, it had all been worth it when Cat accepted her friendship with a smile.
As Starlight turned her rubix cube, she thought back to when they had gotten their cutie marks. Cat’s talent had turned out to be with animals, specifically cats, though she could get along with any pet.
Starlight’s, on the other hoof, had the, as her other classmate put it, the weird cutie mark of a shooting star. Which might not have stood out, if it didn’t have six other stars circling around it.
“How come she get’s seven stars,” she remembered a filly saying, “and most of us only get one of three things?”
“I tell yay,” and had adult said once behind her back, “that foal was already peculiar, and now she gets a peculiar cutie mark. I tell yay, she’ll be nothing but trouble”
At first, even with all the teasing (which was nothing new) there was attention and praise. Then Cat started to spend more time with the animals at the shelter than with her. It soon went from only a few hours everyday, to a few days every week, then to only one day a week.
The next thing Starlight Glimmer knew, Cat said that she was moving to a new city that had a huge opportunity for a veterinary apprenticeship.
Maybe shouldn’t have screamed at Cat for that. Maybe she shouldn't have punched Cat in the face. Maybe if she didn’t fire every offensive spell she knew at her, maybe they could have still been friends who wrote to one another everyday.
Which would have only turned from everyday, to every week, to every month, to every year they were lucky.
Just like her father did.
She heard a group of ponies snicker. Looking up, she saw a group of fillies laughing. They weren’t laughing at her, but she could only imagine what they were saying about her. She clenched her rubix cube in her magic, and took a long deep breath. It was likely her mind was just playing tricks with her and—
“Isn’t that retarded?” Starlight heard the leader of the group, a yellow earthpony filly named Shiny Gold, snicker as her classmates laughed with her.
Fire flashed in Starlight's eyes, and she threw her cub at the filly.
“Ow,” Shiny Gold cried as it hit her. “what the?” She turned to see Starlight glaring at her. “Freak!” The next thing she knew, a purple unicorn foal had slammed into her as said pony pinned her down.
“I’m not a freak,” Starlight shouted, “you are!”
“Take it easy,” Shiny Gold shouted as she kept Starlight's hooves, “we weren’t talking about you!”
“Lies!” Starlight screamed as she continued to punch.
All too soon, she was levitated away from Shiny Gold into the magical grasp of a teacher.
“Starlight,” the teacher sighed.
Starlight sniffled. “Why do you hate me!” she and no and everypony who had begun to stare.
“We don’t hate you,” the teacher tried to ensure.
Shiny Gold, though, had other things to say. “Why does she have to be so strange?”
Ms. Gold!” the teacher snapped.
“What?” Shinny Gold said, “I’m just saying what we’re all thinking.”
t was in that moment of distraction that Starlight was able to wiggle free of her teacher's grasps. she landed on the ground with an, ‘oomph, and looked around at all the frightened faces. faces, she felt, were staring at her and her cutie mark, all because both of them were different.
Before anyone could react, Starlight Glimmer took off into a gallop. Away from all of them, and their judgmental eyes.
*****
Ms. Glimmer had just finished filling the paperwork for her daughter latest outburst when she heard the door to the house fly open.
"Oh, hey... Starlight?" she said to the purple blue that flew past her in tears.
"Starlight?" her mother called after her as she heard the door to her daughters room slam.
"Starlight?" she called as she advanced towards the room. "Sweetie, is everything okay?"
"No!" she heard her daughter, starlight Glimmer, shout as a pair of mane clippers hummed in the background.
"Starlight!" Ms. glimmer responded by forcing the door open to see her daughter trying to shave her cutie mark of shooting star off her flank.
Starlight had just gotten the hair off her right flank when the clippers were levitated out of her weaker magical grasps.
"Hey," Starlight said, "give that back!"
"Starlight Glimmer," her mother boomed, "what is the meaning of... Starlight!" She rushed to her daughter when she saw her pull out a knife and aim it at her flank.
Before Starlight could connect the knife with the skin, her mother grabbed the knife and pinned her down as she had done many times when her daughter had an outburst.
"Starlight, what are you doing?"
"Let me go!" the filly cried as her mother pinned her down.
"Not until you tell me what's going on!"
Starlight struggled for a little while longer. Then, when she saw that she wasn't going anywhere anything soon, she answered, with tears in her eyes, "My cutie mark is stupid!"
Her mother blinked. "What?"
"You heard me," Starlight answered, as she thought back to those filly's in class that day who had said their cutie marks where better than hers. "Everypony in class thinks so. They say there's are better."
Ms. Glimmer sighed. This had not been the first time she had heard from starlight or her teacher about the bullying.
"Star, ou didn’t hurt—"
"I bet that's why Cat left," she huffed, "because she thought her cutie mark made her better than mine.."
Ms. Glimmer winched. "Now, Starlight, you know Cat didn't want to—"
"I bet dad left for a similar reasons. Because he was just as bad a pony as those fillies and Cat.”
Her mothers eyes widen, but Ms. Glimmer did her best not to show her emotion. "Come now, Star," she said with deep breaths, "why don't we get you your medication and then—"
"No!" her daughter shrieked. "No more pills! It just gives the other kids more amuo against me."
As her daughter cried, Ms. Glimmer merely rubbed her back. "Now, honey, we've been over this. There is nothing about having to take medication that you should feel ashamed of."
"Yes it is!" Starlight cried. "It's not far! Why do I have to be different? Why can't we all just be the same?"
"Star—" her mother began as Starlight's horn began to glow.
"Starlight!" her mother cried all too late as her daughter flashed and disappeared.
"Oh," her mother said as she jumped off her bed and raced to the window. "Starlight, Starlight Glimmer!"
*****
Somewhere outside of the town, Starlight Glimmer winked in near the edge of a cave.
She had been able to teleport before, but never very far. This venture had nearly drained her, and as she fell on her knees, her life flashed before her.
Her good ones, where she met her best friend, a unicorn names Kitty Cat, to when her she got her cutie mark.
Then, she thought of all the bad ones; when her friend got her cutie and moved to another town soon after. When her dad left, and she overheard him call her a monster. Then, she saw all the bullies who called her names when she didn't have a cutie mark, and how superior the majority of there's were.
"It's not far!" Starlight sniffled. "Why did you have to leave me, Cat? Why do you have to be so evil, Shiny Gold? Why do we have to be so mean to mean to anypony because they're different? Why do there have to be bad ponies in the world?"
She sighed as she closed her eyes. "Why can't there be a way that no one tease each other for being different?" Her flank began to glow. "Why can't we all be the same?"
There was a bright flash, and when she looked at her rear, her hair had re-grown, and instead of her star cutie marks had been replaced with an equal sign.
"What the—" she began as she heard a whisper from the cave.
"Starlight... Starlight..." it repeated.
"What?" she said as she stood up.
Curiosity overweighting any fear she might of had, she ventured into the cave.
Deeper, and deeper she went. With each step, the voice seemed to grow louder, and louder.
"Starlight, Starlight!" it said with with more volume.
"Who's there?" starlight asked as she got closer to the source of the noise. "I warn you," she lowered her head, "I'm armed, and I will hurt you."
"Starlight," the voice said with no change in tone.
After a while, starlight came to a turn in the cave. On the other side, she could clearly hear the voice and see a bright light eliminating off the corner.
She paused, not sure if she wanted to go any further. Then, she took in a deep breath, and turned the corner.
Facing her, was a massive wall with holes in them, as if it was a library shelf just waiting to be filled. Inside one of those slots, was her former cutie mark.
"What the—?"
"Starlight?" the voice boomed, causing her to cower on the ground with her hooves above her head. "You wish for no one to be different?"
Starlight looked up, not sure if she should have been more shocked at how, whatever it was, had know what she wanted, or had said something other than her name.
"Ye... yes," she said timidly.
"I have seen it in your heart," the voice, which she had come to assuming was the wall, replied. "You have been through so much. Pain, heartbreak, being teased, and even kissing your best friend. And why? Because the world is cruel, because there are bad and unhappy ponies. Ponies who, in turn, seek to make themselves feel better for feeling as if they aren't as good or better than others. But, you can fix all that."
Starlight looked up at the wall, not sure what to make of his offer. "Ho... How?"
"I have great power," it answered, "I was able to take your mark that you've despised so much." To make it's point, her former cutie mark shone. "Now, imagine a world where everyone's cutie mark was the same," it flashed the equal sign, "then no one would be better than the other. No friends would have to separate because of their different interests and destinies. No one would tease anyone for having a 'lame cutie mark. No one will be unhappy, which means, there won't be anymore bad ponies who call ponies like you freaks and monsters."
Starlight winched at the words.
"We...Well," she replied, "that does sound... Nice," she grinned while her eyes narrowed. "But what if they don't want to give up there cutie mark?"
"Then make them!" the voice boomed. "I mean, show them. Yes, you will need to make them want to, understand, and accept your ideals. However, if they are not so easily swayed, then I can give you the power to make them."
The room began to rumble, and from the center, a bright white stone appeared. "Merely touch this stone, and you will be given all the power you need to make your dream come true."
Starlight, by instinct, backed up. This sounded too much like any fairy tale where someone sold their soul.
However, she began to think, what would happen if she went back home and didn't go through with this?
Was there anything worthy not accepting any price that would come with making the world a better place? A place where she, or any foal, didn't have to go through what she had as a child.
Before her mind could make itself up, she walked forward, touched the stone, and asked, "So what do I.... AAAAHHHH!"
****
Back in the town, Starlight had already gotten several of the other ponies ready to go and search for her missing daughter.
"Hey," a bright yellow earth pony filly with a gold bar cutie mark named Shiny Gold said looking at the adults. "What do you suppose is going on?"
"Probably some boring adult stuff," one of her friends suggested.
"Yeah," Shiny Gold nodded, "come on, let's—"
A loud boom rocked the town.
Then, the sky began to turn grey as a mass of clouds began to swirl around the sky above the town. Ponies everywhere stopped to stare at the sight.
Then, from the cloud, a purple unicorn with an equal sign cutie mark levitated from the sky onto a nearby building.
"My fellow ponies!" Starlight announced to them.
"Starlight!" her mother cried.
"The retard?" Shiny Gold cocked.
"Do not be afraid," Starlight went on, "for I have the most wonderful news! I have found a way to make the world a better place! A place where nopony gets laughed at for being different and everyone can be happy!"
"Oh yeah," Gold bit called out, "and how's that?" She then turned to her friends and whispered, "Make as all take crazy pills?"
Her friends snickered, and then gasped or screamed in horror as she was levitated off of the ground and up to Starlight.
"No," Starlight glared at her foe, "pills won't be necessary."
"Hey, hey," the earthpony said as she tried to fight the grasp, "it was all just playful fun. You don't need to get upset, buddy, friend."
"YOU THINK TEASING SOMEONE LIKE THAT IS GOOD?"
The filly curled into a ball.
Starlight, on the other hoof grinned. "You're a bad pony, a bad one!" She watched as Shiny Gold whimpered in her grasp. "You know, I was going to make an example of you, show what happens if ponies disagree with me. But you know what? You're so pathetic, I think I'm just going to let you go."
Gold sighed. "Oh thank you, thank you! You don't— Ah!" she cried as she was turned to glass from the tail up. Frozen with a look of horror for all time, perhaps, if Starlight didn't do as she promised, and let her go.
The crystallized form of Shiny Bits fell two stories down onto the streets below where she shattered into ten thousand pieces.
Below her, the ponies screamed and ran either for their homes or the town line. Only to be stopped by the force field Starlight and put up ahead of time as one pony snapped his neck as he ran into it.
Starlight would have found it amusing, if the she didn't have to take care of the police.
Gold was a bad pony, but she knew the town sheriff and his deputy's might not be. The only reason that one guy had to die was because he kept missing her freezing spell when he flew into her.
With them taken care of, she could focus on the town.
With her new magic, she changed the buildings. The paint peeled, the house sifted, and they'll formed into two single file lines as they all became the same. All except for her hose, which she moved to the end of the town in the center.
With that done, she levitated onto her house and addressed the rest of the town. "SILENCE!" everypony stopped and dropped onto their hooves.
"Oh," she chimed, "don't be afraid. I'm sorry I had to do that, but she was a bad pony. Now, we can't have bad ponies, now can we? Nopony said anything as they looked at her with fear. "Come on, everypony," she announced, "I want to see you smile!"
Nopony did.
"I said,” she stomped her hoof on her roof as flame shot up from the ground, “SMIlE!"
Everypony did. Everypony, but one.
"Starlight Glimmer," her mother said, "this has gone on long enough, young lady!"
Starlight's eyes narrowed as she floated down to her mother.
Everypony backed away respectably.
"I didn't say to stop smiling!" she said without turning her gaze from her mother.
They all did as she told.
"Starlight," her mother said with a tight face, "what happened to you? Why are you doing this?"
"Don't you see, mommy?" Starlight said as a tear formed in her eyes. "I'm doing a good thing. See how everypony's smiling? I'm going to make the world a better place, where there are no bad ponies.. But it won't stop here. Once they all give up their cutie marks—"
"Wait, what?" a stallion asked with a frown. He was then turned into a plant and set ablaze.
Not one pony screamed or dropped their smiles.
"Anyways," Starlight went on, "after this town, I'll spread my ideals all over Equestria, and nopony will be teased or unhappy again!"
She wait anxiously for her mother to smile. To say that she was proud or couldn't wait to get started.
Instead, all she got from her mother was tears.
"Star... Star," she whimpered, "pa... Please, no more, don't be a monsters."
Starlight narrowed her eyes. "Oh, so you agree with dad now?"
Ms. Glimmers mouth was agape.
"Yeah, I heard every word that night. And you know what I think?" Her horn glowed. "I think you're the monsters, and a bad pony too!"
Ms. glimmer cried out, only to be stopped as a corn stalk shot out of the ground, and circled her. As she tried to reach out, the corn pulled her in. With each movement her body sank deeper, and deeper, until only a hoof remaid. Then, her hoof sank in, and she was gone. Where she had stood, was a large patch of corn.
"Don't worry, mommy," Starlight said to the corn stalks, "I’ll let you out when you’re ready to be a good mother.”
She then turned to the townsponies as their forced smiles life up their faces.
"Now," Starlight instructed, "anymore questions?"
They all shook their heads.
"Good," the filly said with a smile, "then follow me. We've got a lot of work to do. First we'll make this town perfect, where everypony is happy and there are no bad ponies. Then, we'll do the same with Equestria." She giggled. "Won't that be the best?"