//------------------------------//
// Episode 1: Solo Mission Part 1 
// Story: Elements of Heroism: Season 5 
// by Bahamut0 
//------------------------------//

Shadow got into a fighting stance and raised his Duelist Arm, Celestial Protector as he anticipated an attack coming from the two figures circling him. Sure enough, one of the two figures rushed him! Bringing their claymore's blade down hard on where Shadow stood! Shadow took to the air and swooped down! Slashing at the figure as he flew by! Shadow was about to slash at the other figure, but the figure blocked it with their shield before kicking Shadow in the gut!

While Shadow was winded from the blow to his gut, he was sent face first into the ground by a blast of energy! "Nnnngh..." Shadow soon lifted his head, and saw his brothers Ace and Ice offering their hands to him. "No...I can get myself up." Shadow groaned as he tore himself free of the small crater made by his fall. "Seriously. You two, Ty, Inferno and Burst are probably the strongest fighters we have so far and make up about half the Elements of Heroism."

"C'mon Shadow. Don't sell yourself short." Ace said with a kind smile. "You've gotten pretty good with your Duelist Arm. These training sessions have been paying off!" Ace then noticed Sonata waving him down. "Oh! I almost forgot Sonata was bringing us lunch today."

Ice nodded. "Perfect time for a break. Indigo's been dying to hear from me." Ice whipped out his phone, and started texting his girlfriend Indigo Zap. And Shadow couldn't help but sigh as he saw his brothers spending time with their special somebodies. Shadow was the youngest out of his brothers, and he'd always seemed to be dead last in terms of everything in his life. And he was still in last place. Both Ace and Shadow had ascended into Avatars, and were now immortal. But what really stung Shadow the most was that he still had yet to gain a girlfriend. Ace was chatting with Sonata, and Ice was texting Indigo Zap.

Forever alone. Shadow thought to himself. "I'm gonna eat at home. See ya." And with that, Shadow sulked off home. However, his mood had not gone unnoticed by his brothers.

"Hey, Ace?" Ice asked. "I think we need to do something for Shadow."

Ace blinked. "Well, what did you have in mind?"

"Hmm. Shadow's not been through any major changes. Or had any impressive hero moments so far." Ice said as he scratched his chin. "Maybe we could give him a solo mission. That way he can feel better about himself."

Ace smiled. "That sounds like a good idea. But maybe you've forgotten that Equestria's at peace right now?" Ace then sighed. "And if we pretend that there's some threat, that would just send Shadow on a wild goose chase." The brothers groaned in frustration. "There's gotta be something we can do for Shadow."

"Maybe you could check with Twilight and her friends?" Sonata suggested. "Think about it! They're usually the first ones to know when some major stuff is going down. Plus, since Twilight's a princess now, she's bound to be the first to know about all kinds of major events!"

Ace scooped Sonata up in a hug! "Sonata you're the best!" Sonata happily returned the hug. Albeit a bit too enthusiastically. "Love you...too..." Ace wheezed as Sonata squeezed him tightly! Fortunately, he was soon released from her loving, yet crushing embrace. "Next stop: Twilight's castle!" Ace and Ice flew off to Twilight's castle, and knocked on the door.

"Ace? Ice? You two need something?" Spike asked.

Ace nodded. "Yeah. Has Twilight been notified of anything important yet?"

"Hmm. No messages from Princess Celestia." Spike said as he scratched his chin. "But, there is something weird going on in the meeting room. Follow me." Spike led the two to the meeting room. Ace and Ice were shocked to see the Main 6 assembled before an odd map in the center of the room. "It just popped up all of a sudden. Now it's showing all of the girls' cutie marks gathering around one village. It's pretty freaky."

Ace and Ice smiled. "Hey, Twilight?" Ice asked.

"What is it Ice?" Twilight asked.

"Wherever this map is pointing you six to, it's gotta be pretty important." Ice began. "So it might be a good idea for you to have some extra back up. Shadow's got nothing better to do. So we figured we could spare him. You don't mind do you?"

Twilight scratched her chin in thought. "Well, I don't see why not. We'd be happy to have Shadow come along!"

"Great!" Ace said with a grin as he flew off to find Shadow and inform him of the good news. "Hey, Shadow!"

Shadow's ears perked up at hearing his brother call for him. "What's up Ace?"

"Twilight and the girls are headed for a village because a weird map is summoning them." Ace explained. "We figured you could use a change of pace. So we're sending you out with them as their bodyguard."

Shadow blinked. "Really? You guys are trusting me with an important mission like this? By myself? Why not send Burst, Inferno, or any of the other heavy-hitters? Or Steel since he's got tons of experience with being the captain of the Elite Guard?"

"To be honest? There's probably not a whole lot going on with the village the girls are being sent to." Ace said with a shrug. "It should be uneventful. But that doesn't make your job any less important. Think you're up for it?"

Shadow jumped to his feet, and saluted! "You know it! I won't let you down!" Shadow bolted back to he and his brothers' house, and soon exited with a backpack and his Duelist Arm in tow. "Time to hit the road!" And with that, Shadow journeyed along with the Main 6 to the village they were being called to. However, Shadow felt his element stir within him as soon as they arrived at the village's entrance. Shadow closed his eyes, and concentrated. There's so much sorrow here. The air's almost thick with misery and longing. Almost like the people here have been stripped of themselves. And as soon as Shadow and the Main 6 came across the first villager, he could tell something was wrong. For starters, all the villagers had what was essentially the same hairstyle. But the most unsettling were the wide, unnatural smiles upon each of the villagers' faces. Ace was wrong. Something is DEFINITELY wrong here. Very wrong if it needs Twilight and the girls to come here. I've got a bad feeling about this. The villager they were speaking too was about to break into song, but Shadow put a hand on his shoulder. "Listen. I'm sure this place is lovely. But we're not here for a tour. We're here to find out what's going on here. Like why everyone has the same hairstyle."

"Oh that's easy!" The villager answered. Still maintaining the plastered smile. "The reason is we've given up our cutie marks! And thus, we are all the same. All equal!"

Shadow and the Main 6 were in shock at how gleefully the villager had made that statement. "Oh. That's....very nice for you." Shadow said with a nervous smile. Yeah. This all screams creepy. These people are more of a cult than a village! "So...who's in charge of this place?"

"That would be me." A light pale purple Magi woman said as she stepped out. She had a violet skirt that fell to her ankles, and wore a plain long sleeve shirt. But what was most unusual was the sign that replaced the mark of her mana center on one of her arms. Normally, the mark took the shape of a Magi's cutie mark. But instead there was an equal sign. "Welcome to Our Town. I am Starlight Glimmer. The leader of this perfect little town."

Shadow frowned. "No place is perfect. Neither are people for that matter."

"Obviously you don't know the happiness we know." Starlight said with a smug smile. "You see, we've come to realize the truth that comes with cutie marks. That they bring nothing but isolation because everyone has a different talent that separates them from everyone else. But to denounce that individuality, that pain, is to be free!"

Twilight shot Starlight a dirty look. "You say that you've given up cutie marks. How is that possible? A cutie mark is a part of who you are."

"There's plenty of holes in your logic too." Shadow noted.

Starlight frowned. "Oh? And just what would that be?"

"For one, everyone already IS equal." Shadow began. At hearing this, all the villagers began to gather. "Let's take a look at this village for a minute. You've got Earthbounds, Magic, and Skyborn here. All of them are different, right?" A few of the villagers murmured in agreement. "But that's what makes you all the same! None of you living here are from the exact same tribe! But at the same time, you're all human! Yet you still retain differences between yourselves with color, voice, and tribe." The murmuring of the villagers grew louder. "So even though you're all different people, that's what you have in common. Or rather, what you had." Shadow took a moment to look over the crowd before continuing. "Something that everyone in Equestria has in common too. No one person is completely alike. So by our differences, we're all the same."

Starlight was furious beyond belief. "But! That! What?! How?! AGGGHH!" Starlight clutched her head in frustration!

"You don't have to instantly accept the words we're saying." Shadow said as he walked over to Starlight. "But I do expect that you think on them. I beg of you. Consider what I've said. It'll give everyone here a chance to be happy." He then put a hand on her shoulder. "And it might give you a chance to heal too." Shadow and the Main 6 left the village, and decided to camp outside it for the night. Starlight just snorted as she watched them leave, and stormed back into her house.

Meanwhile, Shadow and the Main 6 were setting up camp. "Man, this village just screamed creepy!" Rainbow Dash said as she helped to hold the tent frame steady. "I think Moon's gonna be busy burning those weird smiles from my dreams tonight."

"Totally!" Pinkie added. "I could tell those smiles were fake!"

Shadow nodded in agreement. "If anyone knows what a real smile is, it'd be the Element of Laughter herself." Shadow had just finished up setting his tent. 

"Hey, Shadow?" Twilight asked. "How did you know those villagers were sad when they had those fake smiles plastered on their faces?"

Shadow put a hand over his heart. "I tapped into my element of heroism. Being the Element of Compassion, I can sense when other are hurting or hiding some form of sadness or pain. That way I can try to help them. Plus, I could never turn a blind eye to people who need help. But do you think it's even possible to remove the cutie mark of a person?"

"To be honest? I don't know." Twilight said with a sigh. "But Starlight Glimmer must have access to some sort of powerful magic if she's been able to strip these villagers of a piece of themselves."

Shadow stretched. "Well, that's a mystery to solve tomorrow. Right now? I think we could all do with some rest." Shadow then saw Twilight raise a barrier spell around the tent. "Looks like I won't have to worry about standing guard. Good night girls." And with that, Shadow crawled into his sleeping bag. Staring at the roof of it deep in thought. So much for this being a standard guard duty mission. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't wishing something like this would happen. But now? Now I'm just hoping that I don't screw this up. Shadow's thoughts then turned to Starlight. Because more than anything, that girl needs some compassion. Shadow closed his eyes, and tried his best to maintain a restful sleep. Hoping that tomorrow would herald a bright outcome.