Starlight had loaded the jarred cutie-marks onto a wagon so she could concentrate on running. But her horn sensed an approaching presence and she peered back to see Night Glider coming from the sky.
"Are you all so willing to give up everything because of these... strangers?!"
She shot a mana beam to a high ledge, causing a bank of snow to fall on Night Glider. She wasn't hurt but it slowed her down as she dug herself free and Sugar Belle ran past her, "We gave up everything for you! Because we thought you were our friend!"
Double Diamond and Party Favor passed Night Glider too just as she freed herself and took flight to resume the pursuit. Starlight kept running and crossed a very narrow natural bridge that extended over a deep chasm between two mountains, but Double Diamond, Party Favor, and Sugar Belle weren't far behind. Getting an idea from her cutie-mark, Sugar Belle concentrated on a pile of snow and levitated some, forming it in the shape of a pie, "My newest recipe!"
She gave it a heave, declaring it, "Snow Pie!"
Starlight looked back too late as the snow pie hit the wagon, and the harness broke, Starlight tripping but she noticed the jars holding the cutie-marks fall over the side! She quickly concentrated her magic... stopping the jars from breaking just a few inches shy of hitting the bottom, and then brought them back up, carrying them in her magic as she made it across the bridge. She looked back and saw them about to cross, but she quickly shot a powerful energy beam, destroying the bridge!
They skidded to a halt, Double Diamond almost went over, but thankfully Sugar Belle and Party Favor caught him. As Starlight continued to run ahead, however, Party Favor very quickly formed another amazing balloon sculpture... in the form of a whole bridge! It rose up and Night Glider flew over to direct it and made sure it connected to the other side! Party Favor, followed by Double Diamond and Sugar Belle bounced across and continued to chase.
But then Double Diamond saw something on the side of the road and skidded to a halt, "Whoa! These are my old skis!"
Touching them and noticing his helmet lying in the snow, he remembered, "This is where I met Starlight!"
"Maybe you can reminisce another time!" Double Diamond looked up to see Night Glider as she urged him, "She's almost to the caves!"
Getting an idea, Double Diamond smirked as he clutched his skis, "Feel like an airdrop?"
The cave was in sight, but then Starlight saw Night Glider fly ahead, carrying Double Diamond with his skis and helmet on. She dropped him off on a higher level of the mountain, and he used his skiing skills to cause a little avalanche right on top of Starlight! Double Diamond skid to a halt, as his friends caught up with him and they looked at the large pile of snow that had buried Starlight. but before they could do anything else-
*KA-FWOOM*
An explosion of power blew the snow away, the four of them huddling together when they saw her, looking absolutely furious until her rage turned into a disturbing smirk!
"You failed! I still have the cutie-marks and I'm about to get away with them! Those miserable upstarts will spend the rest of their lives as markless little nothings! But you filthy ingrates... Enjoy your cutie-marks to your hearts' content!"
They all whimpered in fright as Starlight;s horn glowed as she said ominously, "For the next five seconds...!"
But just before Starlight unleashed her most powerful spell, Midnight and Twilight arrived, the both of them dropping down in front of the four and then raising powerful barriers of magic, which all too easily blocked Starlight's attempt on her former friends' lives!
When she stopped, Starlight looked on in horror to see Midnight and Twilight, who had her cutie-mark!
"Wha- But how?! I have your cutie-mark! You can't-" Starlight tried to make sense of what she was seeing.
"Take a closer look at those jars, Starlight," Midnight smirked as the rest of the Harmonic Twelve arrived and just like Twilight the rest of the girls had their cutie-marks too!
Starlight levitated the jars to her face and scrutinized them... only for the cutie-marks inside to fade away!
"What?!"
"Semblances. You really are a... clumsy fool, Starlight!" Midnight was being entirely too smug but he was enjoying this.
"Why you- Wait...!!" Starlight realized the truth, "You saw me!"
"I did, and so did Fluttershy," Midnight explained, "the guys and I actually arrived last night when we sensed our girls were in trouble. I met with Fluttershy outside your house and we saw you wipe yourself off, revealing your so-called equal mark was fake and that you concealed your cutie-mark using makeup! After you'd gone to bed, I took the cutie-marks back but left Semblances of them in the jars so you wouldn't notice, and I even nabbed the makeup you used, so the girls could pull the same trick as you. We planned this whole thing to expose you for the lying fraud you are."
"You... you had your marks the whole time!" Starlight realized she'd been played for a fool all along!
"Starlight, this has to stop," Twilight stepped forward, "Each of my friends have taught me something about myself I could never have learned on my own. Their unique gifts and passions and personalities helped me to bring out a magic inside I never knew I had! I never would have learned that I represent the Element of Magic without all these very different and very amazing ponies, and I certainly wouldn't be here to put an end to your deception!"
"Spare me your sentimental nonsense," Starlight jeered, "I gave these ponies real friendships they never could have had otherwise!"
"How do you know that?!" Double Diamond argued as he took his helmet off so Starlight would look into his eyes and see how he saw her, "You never even gave us a chance!"
Growling, Starlight gathered her power, the energy radiating brighter as it intensified, everypony looking away to shield their eyes... when they heard a flash and looked to see Starlight was gone! But then they heard the echoes of galloping coming from inside the cave.
"She's getting away!" Rainbow Dash rose up, seeing the snowy hoof prints Starlight had left behind.
"We'll never find her in there!" added Double Diamond.
"You won't... but I will!" Midnight commanded the shadows to take him away and they watched as he ventured into the unknown.
Her hooves and panting echoed through the dark tunnels, her horn her guiding light. How did it come to this? Where did she go wrong?! Curse those upstarts, curse those alicorns! Those high-and-mighty royals oh-so-full-of-themselves, how dare they?! There was no way she was going to let this go, somehow - Someway! - she'd find a way to get back at them, she was going to make them pay. She'd take their so-called friendship based on differences and talents and shatter it before their very eyes!
It was a while before Starlight began to slow down, her lungs burning with every breath. But finally, she paused and slunk down onto her haunches, and leaned back against the cave wall. As it all finally came down on her, the full realization, her home and everything she'd worked for was gone. It hurt, it really did, but she'd done what she did for their own good! She had to show them that being different only bred conflict and misery.
Just like it did for her...
"Feeling tired?"
"Wha?!" Starlight jumped up and shot a beam at the direction she'd heard the voice, a loud crack and flash, dust flaring up,as did her horn as she looked around. "Where are you?! SHOW YOURSELF!!"
"You're going to answer for your crimes."
Behind me! Starlight whirled around and shot another beam, but again there was no one there! "Come out, you coward!"
"Coward, am I...? I'm not the one who stooped to something so petty as trying to steal cutie-marks away forever and ran like a dog with her tail between her legs..." His voice was most certainly rubbing her the wrong way, but Starlight didn't react again. She had no idea where he was or what he was capable of. He'd already outwitted her, infuriating as it was to admit it to herself.
"I looked at how you lived. I walked upon your street. It's a joke... Life is pain and effort and compromise. You think you'd accomplished so much, but I looked around at what you'd done... and I saw puppets being jerked around by your strings. You built a shrine to a pathetic hypocrisy. We are individuals yet you made a despicable attempt to erase that. You worked and toiled towards creating a life where you and those you lied to walked about with forced smiles as though everything was truly perfect when it couldn't have been more flawed. My friends? We live the full lives we were guided to. You strove to create to a pathetic fantasy where everypony are slaves to your conceited bigotry, a twisted delusion... instead of recognizing the gift that each and every one of them has to offer. A gift that could have been yours had you only given them a chance. The Magic of Friendship!"
"Shut up!!" Starlight began firing blindly, exhausting herself and her mana further, and only when the dust became so thick it made it hard to breathe did she calm down just a little but fear began to overwhelm her. She couldn't see him, she couldn't sense him!
"WHERE ARE YOU?!?!
"Behind you!"
Gasping, Starlight turned around to see a furrowed pair of eyes glowing a blazing blue as fiery mana was flowing out the corners of his eyes and she screamed as a pair of wings enveloped her in total darkness.
Everypony waited at the mouth of the cave, nervous and concerned. Double Diamond. Party Favor, Night Glider, and Sugar Belle, to their incredible beliefs, worried not only for Midnight but Starlight as well! Despite the lies, despite what she'd made them do, there had been times when she really had been kind and considerate. She'd worked hard to make everypony comfortable and ensure they had food and shelter. It hadn't been perfect, but it still spoke to Starlight's dedication.
Then... deep in the cave, they saw a light. Turquoise blue but just a little darker than Starlight's mana, and they soon saw Midnight approaching them, with a pony-sized bubble of his mana floating beside him, and they saw it contained Starlight.
"Midnight!" Twilight hurried over and embraced him, which he was happy to return. when they broke the hug, Twilight looked at Starlight in the bubble, and saw she wasn't awake.
"Is she...?"
"She's fine, just asleep," Midnight assured, "Starlight has much to answer for. She is guilty of a long list of crimes and we will take her to Canterlot where she will face trial."
"Another one?!" Rainbow Dash griped.
Twilight didn't like this, but the look on Midnight's face was hard yet soft, as he said, "Twilight... We can't look the other way."
Sighing, Twilight conceded, "I only hope that she'll take the time to think it over."
She looked to Double Diamond, Party Favor, Night Glider, and Sugar Belle, "Maybe she'll realize that you all taught her something."
"It's you who taught us something," Party Favor answered, "We all came to this village because we were searching for something missing from our lives. We thought Starlight had given it to us, but..."
Party Favor turned around to smile at his friends, "Now it seems it was in front of us all along. It's us!"
The four of them came together in a group hug, and Midnight asked, "So I take it you're all gonna stay in the village?"
"It's our home," Night Glider affirmed, "I'm not going anywhere!"
"This is a chance for all of us to get to know each other again, for the very first time!" Double Diamond declared.
"And I finally have a chance to bake something besides terrible muffins!" joked Sugar Belle.
Everypony laughed before Midnight declared, "Then let's celebrate, back at the village. Come on!"
As they all came down the mountain, the village was in sight, and Pinkie, Cheese, and Party Favor were discussing what kind of party they could make together!
"Your balloons are amozzarella, Party Favor!" Cheese complimented.
"You gotta teach me!" Pinkie insisted, "Balloon sculptures like that would make all our parties even more fun-fun-fun!"
"Of course! It's so cool to meet other party ponies," Party Favor laughed, "the only one I've ever met was my teacher, the Great Ponyacci!"
Pinkie and Cheese both GASPED at Party Favor and said, "YOU learned joking and pranking and partying from Ponyacci too?!"
"You guys too?!" Party Favor smiled as big as they did.
"Alright, party ponies, save it for the party planning before you all burst into confetti," Midnight laughed, as did the others, "We're gonna need all that- AUGH!!"
A bolt of black and green mana blindsided Midnight, knocking him unconscious, everypony gasping as Twilight cried out, "MIDNIGHT!!"
She hurried over to his side, and whimpered at the sight of the wound on the side of his head.
"Hey! Starlight's floating away!" Soarin pointed out, and everypony looked to see he was right!
She was still unconscious but the bubble containing Starlight floated away from them towards a tree... that shimmered away, revealing a tall and hooded figure, wearing a wine-red gown, and extending a paw-like hand to the bubble containing Starlight until it floated beside the figure.
"Who are you?! And what do you think you're doing?!" Blueblood stepped forward, as everypony got ready for a fight.
A purring laugh answered before it became a soft and velvety voice that raised the hair on the backs of everypony's necks, "I apologize for the sudden appearance, everypony. But you see, this pony here" - she reached up and poked her claw into the bubble containing Starlight, but instead of popping Midnight's turquoise mana was overtaken by a sickening green - "has piqued this cat's curiosity!"
"Cat?! What are you talking about?" Twilight stood up and stepped forward, putting herself between the stranger and all her friends, "Who are you?!"
"Ah, Princess Twilight, at last we meet," the figure gave a mocking bow before she stood up again, "This truly is quite the collection of such colorful characters!"
"Give Starlight Glimmer back!" Thunderlane demanded.
"No, I think not, my dear Thunderlane," the figure chuckled, "As I already said, I find myself quite intrigued by this insipid little dictator. But far be it from me to rob you all of your villain and leave you with nothing... When Midnight wakes up, tell him to expect a little... consolation prize when you all get home. And now we've got the particulars settled... TTFN!"
"STOP!!" Rainbow Dash, Soarin, and Night Glider zoomed right for the figure as a feverish green haze enveloped her and Starlight, and they were gone, the three pegasi almost bumping into each other.
"BUCK! She got away!" Rainbow punched the air.
"With Starlight!" Night Glider added.
"But who was she, and what could she want with Starlight?"Soarin questioned.
"Ugh..."
They all turned to see Midnight stirring, and Twilight hurried over to check on him, "Midnight? Are you okay?"
"Urgh, yeah, I'm... just... What happened?" Midnight sat up, rubbing his head wound and looking around to see everypony looked scared and nervous. "Oh no... Starlight didn't escape, did she?!"
"Uh, not exactly..." Cheese rubbed his hoof against the back of his head.
Midnight looked to Twilight for answers, and she took a deep breath, "Midnight... you're not gonna like this."
The figure reappeared on a distant mountainside, the village just barely visible in the distance, and lowered her hood to reveal Catrina!
Chuckling, she checked her prize, seeing she was merely unconscious before Catrina looked to her side to see two figures, standing patiently as they'd been waiting. They were both unicorns, the shorter one wore a hooded cloak, the taller one was clad in a full suit of armor that hid every part of his body in plating and chain mail colored dark gold and onyx black.
"When they leave, you know what to do..." Catrina spoke to them and they silently nodded.
Having affirmed their plan, Catrina smiled deviously before she took her new test subject and vanished again a a feverish green haze!
Everypony returned to the village, but they informed the rest of the villagers that Starlight had gotten away. It wasn't exactly true, but they didn't think the truth would be any comfort. The friends, old and new, were all quite worried as to who that hooded figure was and feared to even think of what diabolical purpose she could want with Starlight Glimmer.
Even so, they didn't let that get in the way of their celebration! The village looked livelier than it did before, and all it took was some balloons and streamers, not to mention a large snack table with catering courtesy of Sugar Belle. Everypony chatted and joked and played and had an all-around good time.
"Now those are real smiles!" Pinkie was happy to declare as she and the rest of the Harmonic Twelve looked on at all those happy faces.
"You said it, Pinkie!" Cheese Sandwich agreed.
Then they all felt their flanks shudder and they saw their cutie-marks glowing inward, Applejack commenting, "Ah'll never get used t' that."
"I think it's divine!" Rarity commented.
"Think the map's calling us somewhere else, Twi?" asked Thunderlane.
"Actually, everypony, I think it means that our work here is done," Twilight declared.
"Looks like you wer' right, Twilight," Applejack spoke up, "th' map did have a reason fer sendin' us here."
"Eeyup, so tha' we'd bring real friendship t' these here ponies," agreed Big Mac as he hugged his `Shy and she smiled at him.
"Well, she and Midnight are the princess and prince of Friendship," Blueblood reminded them all.
"But the map didn't send just me or Midnight..." Twilight reminded them.
"...It sent all of us" Midnight pointed out. "Each and every one of you?"
"You're a part of us," Twilight nodded, "and there's no doubt that you are all a part of our mission to spread Friendship to Equestria."
"GROUP HUG!!!" Soarin called, and they all came together with a big hug from all of each other to each other.
"This feels like an ending! it doesn't have to be an ending yet, does it?!" hoped Pinkie, not wanting to leave in the middle of a party.
"Yeah, cause Sugar Belle's got some real baked goudas!" Cheese licked his lips.
"I don't see why we can't stick around a little longer," chuckled Midnight, "let's go!"
Midnight charged forward, and the rest followed as they joined in on the merry mirth and whimsy!
During the party, Rainbow Dash, Thunderlane, and Soarin complimented Night Glider's flying skills, Pinkie and Cheese bounced a large beach ball around with Party Favor, Rarity fashioned some simple but nevertheless verily attractive accessories from some spare cloth and even managed to add a few gems after using her gem-finding spell while Blueblood offered to set up a trade route to bring the village goods and supplies to trade with and for. Big Mac and Applejack found a few farmers and gave them some tips for getting started on planting crops or maybe even their own apple orchard, and Fluttershy showed the local foals some baby prairie dogs. As for Twilight and Midnight, they just enjoyed themselves, chatting and joking with the villagers and their new friends here.
But soon it was past noon, and it really was time to go. Everypony gathered around the Slipstream as Double Diamond said, "Come back anytime for a visit! We'll be happy to have you."
"Same to you if you ever want to visit Ponyville," Twilight smiled back at them all. "We hope to see you all again soon."
"Bye!" "Thank you so much!" "We miss you already!" "Have a safe trip!" "Come visit us soon!"
The Harmonic Twelve waved even as they ascended into the big open skies and soon disappeared in the distance.
The villagers soon began to disperse and return to their homes, but Sugar Belle noticed Party Favor remained, still gazing up into the sky.
"Party?" she came over to check on him, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I..." Party Favor had remembered hearing that pink party pony's full name, Pinkie Pie. "Um, could you excuse me? I gotta check something."
Party Favor went back to his house and dug through a chest of the few meager possessions he'd brought with him when he'd originally arrived in this village a while back. he found what he was looking for, a natural geode that served as a picture frame that showed a very young Party Favor, with his parents and his two little sisters. He was the sole unicorn among a family of earth ponies, and he recalled the name he'd been given before he started going by Party Favor.
He hadn't looked back on his past like this for a long-long time. But when he'd heard Pinkie Pie's name, he realized who she must be!
In the picture, his mother was pregnant. But he'd ran away before she'd given birth. This blast from his past both thrilled and disturbed him as he remembered his birth name, given to him by his parents.
Basalt Pie.