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// Prologue: The Turning Point 
// Story: Equal Equestria Enlightenment 
// by stupidhand14 
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	It has been a month since harmony was nearly destroyed by those strangers. Fortunately, things have finally started to calm down in our little community. We even made some new friends, some of which I am sure will be a big help to our community. But, I am getting ahead of myself. I did start this journal to catalog the rise of true harmony, so I might as well start on the day that everything changed; the day that Fluttershy became a traitor and tried to turn everyone away from true friendship.

Day 368

"...Then how do you explain this?" Fluttershy asked as she threw the bucket. I saw the water coming towards me and jumped out of the way.
"I knew you couldn't be trusted," I told her. Most other ponies assumed that she had seen the truth, including me at one point... but now I know she was hiding something. Suddenly, I felt something on my flank and turned to see Party Favor wiping away the makeup covering my cutie mark.
"No," I said, panicking. "Get away!"
I could hear an audible gasp from my friends. The moment I feared for so long was now. This was where I would rise or fall.
"But... you said cutie marks were evil," said Double Diamond. "You said special talents led to pain and heartache."
"They do, can't you see? Look at them!"
"Then why... why do you have your cutie mark?" asked Sugar Belle
"I... I... I..." I tried to form my thoughts, but was unable to. I couldn't figure out what to say; my mind was deadlocked. I couldn't stop myself from letting my tears flow.
"It's because... I have to," I confessed. "The staff is nothing more than a stick I found... the cutie unmarking is something I have to do, personally. It takes up a substantial amount of magic." There was silence as my fellow ponies let my lies sink in.
"Why did you lie to us? We would have understood," called out Double Diamond.
"I'm sorry everypony... I just thought that if you knew the truth, you would want your own cutie marks back. I hid my cutie mark so that nopony would feel unequal." I could see that I was changing some minds in the crowd, and most of them seemed much calmer. 
“Shouldn’t we all have our Cutie Marks then?” a mare shouted from the crowd.
“No!” I shouted in a panic. “That would just destroy the equality we have created!”
“But with your Cutie Mark, aren’t you different from us?” Juicy Pear asked.
“Yes, I am different… but I can’t change that. If I do, all of our friendships will be destroyed.”
“How can you speak of friendship if you’re not equal?” a young colt asked.
“Because I know I am not superior to anypony else. I studied Equality for years to understand true friendship.” I looked at the crowd, waiting for the next question to come, but none ever did.
"This does not change anything else," I continued. "Everything I said about cutie marks was the truth. This cutie mark is my curse, my burden. I only keep it so that all of you can be friends." I put my head closer to the ground, knowing what was about to come. "I will understand if you wish me to leave the village, and allows me to come back if you need me to do the cutie unmarking."
Nopony was able to speak, their shock evident. After a few seconds, a lot of them came running towards me. I thought they were going to attack me, but I knew that I couldn't stop them. However, rather than attacking me or getting angry, they embraced me.
"I had no idea you were forced to bear this burden," one called out.
"You should have told us from the beginning," scolded another.
"We would never kick you out of the village," Double Diamond called out. It felt so good, knowing that my friends still liked me, despite my lies. I looked over the swarm of ponies to see the six strangers too shocked to move. I could salvage something from my early plans after all.
"Somepony, stop them! They haven't finished the equalization process!" I called out to anypony that would listen. I could see Lightning Dust, a relatively new friend, already taking flight to stop the pegasi from fleeing. Before any others could move, they were surrounded and promptly put back into the learning house.
"Thank you every pony... I... I..." I was getting choked up again. "I cannot express my thanks, to all of you. I... I feared this day would come and you would be blinded by your anger and abandon our goals. I was always scared that some of you would leave our village. That thought always made me sad.
"However, we cannot allow this to change us. But... now I must ask, do you all wish for me to continue hiding my cutie mark, like I was, or would you all rather I keep it shown?" I finished. There was some mulling in the crowd, with many of them asking questions to one another. I could not get a clear group consensus on the matter
"I have a question," Double Diamond stated before standing in front of everypony else. "Why can't you remove it and then reattach it when we need to perform the cutie unmarking?"
This was an interesting question, one that I had tested. When I discovered this spell, I had attempted to remove my Cutie Mark. It worked and most of my magical energy was gone. I quickly reapplied it, and all of my magical was restored. But I couldn't tell them the truth that I could lose my cutie mark. I still needed my power. A lie wouldn't hurt them too much at this point, right?
"Well, it takes a long time for a cutie mark to give a special talent back," I started. "Last time I tested it, I was unable to do the cutie unmarking for over two months." That should satisfy them. A little lie never hurt anyone, right?
There were more murmurs, as ponies processed this information. I was getting more nervous. Though they forgave me, they might very well have me remove my cutie mark.
A few minutes passed, but it felt like hours to me. I answered a few more questions, being truthful this time, and, in the end, they allowed me to keep my cutie mark. The only condition was I had to limit my use of magic and continue hiding it. It was a fair compromise, considering the alternatives. There was only one other order of business; the elements. I was still in a vulnerable position, and those six were the focal points of any resistance to my authority. After a few more hours of talking and socializing with other ponies, I decided to visit the elements.
I opened the door to the equalization room. The elements were all in one corner, probably scheming together. As soon as I opened the door, they all got up and gave me a glare of pure anger. I looked each in the eye. Rainbow Dash had a smirk of determination clearly painted on her face. Applejack and Rarity mirrored the look, though in their own ways. Pinkie Pie was glaring at me, though that was not unusual even before the cutie unmarking. The two that surprised me were Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy looked very sad, not that I could blame her. Twilight Sparkle, on the other hand, was analyzing me. I cannot understand why she did so, but it does not matter.
"What do you want?" Rainbow Dash asked, her voicing raising.
"I just came in to tell you all something," I started. "You may think that you know what is best for this village, but you're wrong. Today just proved that. The other ponies sided with me and harmony, not you and strife." They were all glaring at me now. It probably wasn't a good idea to rub in my victory over them.
"I just wanted to say that I hope you all see past your mistake," I continued, sadness filling my voice. "I really do not wish for anypony to continue believing the lie of cutie marks. I hope you are still willing to join our little community." Their faces were shocked as I turned away. I walked out the door only to find Double Diamond waiting there.
"Oh... hello Double Diamond," I said.
"Hello," he replied. "I am just here to take those cutie marks back to the vault."
"Oh, yes... of course. Please, right this way," I replied, leading him towards my cottage. The journey was, blessedly, uneventful. Double Diamond just took the cutie marks and left, bidding me a good night. I hope we can have a respite for a bit.