//------------------------------//
// Chapter 27 - Cult of Equality 
// Story: Off The Mark 
// by Goldfur 
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I wrote a long letter to Trixie explaining what had happened and our reasons for pursuing the strange summons of the map table.  I guessed that it would take us a few days to get to the place, figure out why we were there, and then return.  Hopefully, I would be back in Canterlot in time for next Monday’s court. I then gave the scroll to Spike to deliver it by dragonfire… long after the girls and I had departed on the train. I’m no idiot!  It was better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission, and I sure as hell didn’t think the Great and Apoplectic Trixie would be particularly approving of our little jaunt.

The next problem was Twilight’s contingent of Royal Guards.  It was the unanimous consensus of all six mares that the map had summoned the seven of us and only us.  It was a quest if you will, and one that we had to undertake without the benefit of a plethora of soldiers backing us up.  It was not as if my friends did not have a point – as the Element Bearers, they had successfully dealt with many problems by themselves.  Most of them were accomplished before Twilight had become an alicorn which spoke for their competence.  However, that point became moot after she ascended and became a princess of Equestria.  What had been fine for a civilian was not appropriate for one of the rulers of the nation.  I told her point blank that she did not have the right to gallivant into the unknown without at least a couple of bodyguards.  It wouldn’t hurt to have a few more Royal Guards to keep an eye on the rest of the group too.  Twilight was still on the fence and the ever-overconfident Rainbow Dash openly scoffed, so I played my ace.

“If you don’t take some Royal Guards, I’ll tell Spike to send that scroll now.”

Twilight sourly conceded, which just left my own bodyguard.  He might as well have been a literal rock for all the impression their arguments had upon him.

“Magical maps are not included one way or the other in my orders, Your Highness.  My duties are quite clear irrespective of Harmony-infused manifestations.”

Since he had been appointed by Trixie, Twilight could not simply override his orders.  She at least won the concession that Crimson be counted as one of the protection detail.  And so, we left with a squad of four bodyguards.

We boarded the Manehattan line train, although we would have to make a transfer well before we reached that city.  It would be nightfall before we got there though, so we planned to stay at a hotel overnight.  This wasn’t the first trip on this train done by the mares, but it was all new to me, and I enjoyed watching the countryside pass by.  Rarity was happy to tell me all about their first visit to Manehattan, the fashion show that she won, and the new friend that they had made.  One of these days, I would have to go see the sights for myself.

Speculation on why the map was sending us to a remote part of Equestria was brief – there was only so much that could be gleaned from so little information. Instead, we spent the majority of the journey discussing our little adventure in Sunset’s world.  While we all felt that we’d like to visit again, the burden of the extreme time differential was going to make that awkward for the time being.  On the flip side, Sunset could afford to spend a few days in Equestria and still be home in time for dinner.  Twilight was already making plans for when that came about.

We pulled into a station of a township that was nestled in the foothills of a mountain range. From the platform, I could see the spur line that headed northwards to service the farming communities out that way. Due to handling a very low volume of passengers, the trains ran infrequently on that line and there would not be another until tomorrow morning.  Thus, we had to stay here overnight.  Twilight consulted with the station master who gave her directions to the hotel. While this was only a small township not unlike Ponyville, it was a local hub for road and train transport, so finding suitable accommodation for the seven of us was not a problem. Fluttershy offered to share a room with me, but then Rarity and Rainbow Dash wanted to do the same.  I ended up in a room by myself, much to my relief. If I hadn’t, I think I would have had to take on my pegacorn form for the night.  I wondered if I’d ever get used to being such an overt target for the mares.

After an early breakfast, we headed back to the station in time for the morning service on the North-East Line.  Farms soon gave way to undeveloped lands with stations few and far between. Apparently, there were only a few mines out this way that the train serviced, and even then, it terminated abruptly in what seemed the middle of nowhere.  The conductor had explained to us that the train normally didn’t even go this far and had only done so because we had purchased tickets to the end of the line.  There wasn’t even a proper platform - only a raised level hard-packed gravel area suitable for loading and unloading.  From this point, we hoofed it.

I actually enjoyed the walk.  Phil and I not only went camping but also did a lot of hiking, and this was brand new territory for me to explore.  It wasn’t quite untouched wilderness, as evidenced by tracks cut through the land and a rope bridge that spanned a chasm, and it showed that we were likely to be on the right track.  Eventually, we were rewarded by the sight of a small village at the bottom of a valley that matched the image seen on the map table.  I estimated that there were four dozen small homes clustered around a broad main street

Pinkie insisted on scouting ahead in the most cliché manner possible.  She zipped from cover to cover, even lifting boulders to hide under.  We just rolled our eyes and followed normally.  This wasn’t a covert mission, after all, and acting suspiciously wasn’t the impression that we wanted to make on the inhabitants of the town.  We paused on the outskirts to observe before entering. It seemed like a very ordinary place with some very bland buildings lined up on just one street that terminated with another dull house.

“This is the place that the map sent us?” Rainbow Dash asked in a disgusted tone. “It looks like the most boring place in Equestria!”

“It could do with some architectural flourishes,” Rarity said.

“I don’t like it!  Not one bit!” Pinkie declared.  “I know smiles, and those smiles – they’re just not right.”

“Forget the smiles – look at the cutie marks!” Twilight said.

I had been distracted by the big, creepy smiles plastered on the faces of every pony, but now that it had been pointed out, I saw that without exception, their cutie marks were the same – an ‘equals’ symbol.

“That’s weird. Is this sort of thing common?” I asked.

“Not at all,” Twilight replied.  “I can’t understand how this can be!  It’s hard to find two cutie marks alike, let alone a whole town with the same one.”

“Well, we’re not gonna find out what’s goin’ on just standing here yammering,” Applejack said. “Ah reckon we should go on into town and have a chat with the locals.”

It was the obvious and practical thing to do, so we headed in, although not without Pinkie declaring that those smiles were bad news.  We were quickly spotted and the ponies started coming our way.

“Welcome!” the first one said, his smile growing even larger.

There was a chorus of welcomes from the other ponies, all of them grinning almost manically. A light blue unicorn stallion clad in a rather ratty cloak approached and also welcomed us but addressed Twilight directly.

“Pardon me, but are you an alicorn?” he asked.

“That there’s the Princess of Friendship,” Applejack announced as Twilight gave the pony a delighted smile.

“Well, you certainly came to the right place for friendship,” the stallion replied.

I couldn’t help but shudder at the way he said the word ‘friendship’.  I was already getting weirded out.

“What brings you to town?” a white earth pony stallion asked.

“We’re… not entirely sure,” Twilight replied.

“No matter. All are welcome in our little village. My name is Double Diamond and this is Party Favor.”

“Howdy!” Applejack replied before introducing the rest of us.

“And you all have your own unique cutie marks!”

The girls and I all looked at each other, wondering how this could be such a novelty. Twilight put that mystery aside and asked if there had been any sort of problem affecting them recently.  They denied ever having trouble in their village and suggested that we should speak to the town’s founder.  With nothing else to go on, we decided to follow Double Diamond and hope that this Starlight Glimmer person could enlighten us. Fluttershy was quite taken by the friendliness of the townsfolk, but Pinkie was still suspicious.  Frankly, I was on her side.  Something definitely was not right here, and this was from a guy who had only been a pony for a few months.

We were led to the house that was at the end of the street, and after knocking, went straight in without waiting for an answer.  I would have kicked their butts for rudely barging in without an invitation, but maybe they had different standards.

“Starlight! We have some new visitors!” announced Double Diamond.

On my guard for just about anything, I was disappointed when a seemingly average unicorn mare came out from another room.  She had a pink coat and a purple mane with a blue stripe, plus the ubiquitous equals cutie mark.

“Welcome!” she declared.

We were introduced but Starlight seemed to have eyes mostly for Twilight.

“Forgive me, but would that be Princess Twilight Sparkle?  We don’t get many alicorns around here.  How did you find out about our little town?”

“Let’s just say that we found it on a map, and you can call me Twilight.”

“We’re happy to have you and anypony who wishes to experience true friendship for the first time.”

“Say what?” Applejack asked.

Starlight Glimmer then proudly told us that here they didn’t flaunt their special talents because they didn’t have any to flaunt.  When Twilight asked if that was why they all had the same cutie mark, the unicorn suggested that a tour of the town would give us the answers that we were seeking.  She led us outside and called out to the townsponies to gather.  What followed was both bizarre and frightening.  In what was obviously a well-rehearsed routine, they paraded and danced while Starlight extolled the virtues of “Our Town”.  The stallions and the mares all matched step and the slightest imperfection corrected while the joys of conformity were celebrated.  I didn’t know what my friends thought of this display, but I recognized repressive propaganda when I saw it and it raised my hackles.  Somehow, the coloration of the townsponies also looked off to me, but I couldn’t figure out exactly why.

When the singing was done, Rainbow Dash burst into laughter and scoffed at giving up her cutie mark.  Fluttershy scolded her, pointing out that the villagers seemed perfectly content with their choice.  Twilight was plainly confused and said so.

Starlight said, “We have no judgments in our village.  Each of us was confused once as well, blinded by the false promises of our cutie marks.”

Twilight said, “When we were sent here, we assumed it was to help in some way.”

The head mare replied, “Have you considered that you were sent here so that we may help you?  After all, nopony has ever wanted to leave our village once they arrived.  Why should you be any different?  But that’s entirely your choice.  In the meantime, please enjoy our little corner of Equestria. We’re all quite proud of it. Double Diamond – would you see to our guests, please?”

“Certainly, Starlight,” the white stallion replied enthusiastically.

As the unicorn walked back to her house, we wandered down the street to take a closer look at the houses and shops.  Rarity nearly fainted at the sight of some poorly made clothing on sale.  A farmer’s stand had some of the most miserable-looking vegetables and fruits that I had ever seen in two worlds.  A furniture store had rickety chairs and lopsided tables on display.  More evidence confirming what I already suspected, making me growl under my breath. We paused at what seemed to be a café judging by the sign and a table with chairs outside.  I tested mine for structural integrity before parking my butt on it.  I could crash well enough without the assistance of defective furniture, thank you!

A hot debate quickly started with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash at polar extremes with their opinions.  I was about to add my two bits worth when the proprietor came out and I held my tongue. The others continued bickering until the mare spoke up.

“Is this a bad time?  Is your friendship ending?”

“Are you crazy?!” Pinkie squealed.  “We’d never let a disagreement get in the way of food!”

The mare looked a little taken aback.  “O–kay. Well, my name is Sugar Belle. What can I bring you?  We have muffins….”

She let the sentence hang.  If the food situation was as bad as the rest that I had seen, I wasn’t too hopeful for a decent meal.  “I guess we’ll have seven muffins then,” I said.

“Make that twelve!” Pinkie declared as Sugar Belle walked off to get our order.

As soon as the mare was out of earshot, I said, “Twilight, we have a problem.  Did you notice how artificial their solidarity seems?”

The alicorn nodded.  “It did seem very orchestrated – not like a heartsong at all.”

Oh yeah – those.  I’d been caught up in a couple of them.  Music coming from nowhere and everypony instinctively singing in Harmony.  That had been totally absent here though.  “Do you recognize this kind of thing?”

“No, it’s unlike anything that I’ve read about.  Do you?”

“Unfortunately, yes.  It has the hallmarks of a Stalinist regime.”

Applejack tilted her head and asked, “A what now?”

“It’s named after a human named Joseph Stalin who was responsible for imposing things like collectivism and forced labor on his country.  People who disagreed with his policies were either arrested or executed. He was the worst of dictators and millions died under his leadership.  Anyone who did not conform was considered a threat to the State.”

“What about the awful clothes and produce?” Rarity asked.

“Some of the results of Stalin’s ideologies were shortages of food and goods.  I admit, however, that there seems to be an additional element at play here.  I have never seen so much universally poor-quality stuff anywhere.  I’m missing something.”

Sugar Belle returned with a tray full of muffins.  Just looking at them, I could tell they were burnt.  She put them on the table and gave us a slightly confused look.

“Were you arguing again?  All those different cutie marks must make for a lot of disharmony.  You really should consider having them removed.”

Applejack was aghast.  “Are you plumb loco?  Why would we ever do that?”

“I’m sorry, I’m not making myself clear.  Different talents lead to disagreements which lead to bitterness and misery.”

She was interrupted by the sound of Pinkie gagging and then spitting out a mouthful of the muffin that she had just bitten into.  She plastered a fake smile on her face and said, “Sorry – it went down the wrong way.  It’s really… good.”

Sugar Belle apparently wasn’t fooled.  “It’s alright – I know they’re not very good.  I’m no better baker than anypony else in the village, but that’s my job.” Then she jerked as she realized something and I noticed Double Diamond across the street seeming to take a lot of interest in what she was saying.  “Well, I hope you enjoy your stay in our little village!”  The mare then hastily retreated.

Pinkie immediately started trying to remove the remnants of the muffin from her mouth.  I decided to risk tasting one to find out for myself what they were like.  For starters, they were almost rock-hard, and the burnt exterior was unpleasant.  I would like to describe the taste, but I’ve chewed cardboard with more flavor.  Pinkie’s more discerning taste buds must have been seriously offended. The best that I could possibly say about the muffin is that it seemed to be edible… barely, and that was only at the risk of cracking a tooth.  This was the last straw.  I forced myself to swallow the mouthful and then turned back to Twilight.

“Something is seriously wrong here, Twilight.  I don’t understand why everything is of universally bad quality, but what Sugar Belle said about different talents must have something to do with it.  The townsponies are all acting like they’re brainwashed into conformity.  And then there’s our friend over there spying on us.” I pointed a hoof at the white stallion who buried his head in a book and tried to look as if he had not been hanging on our every word.  Unsurprisingly, the cover of the book had a huge equals sign on it.

“Perhaps we should clear this up with Starlight Glimmer?” Fluttershy softly suggested. “After all, despite what we’ve seen, the ponies here seem very happy.”

I groaned. Fluttershy was painfully naïve. However, she did make a good suggestion. Of all the ponies here, she seemed too good to be true to her ideals, and the way she had led those townsfolk in fervent celebration of their village spoke to me of a manipulation.  “I agree – let’s get some answers from Starlight that aren’t a propaganda campaign.”

As no one seemed inclined to eat the muffins, the motion was carried and we all headed back to the founder’s house.  Only then did I notice that our minder Double Diamond was no longer at his table.

The pink unicorn seemed unsurprised at our return.  She smiled disarmingly and said, “You have some questions, I believe?”

Twilight said, “Yes, we’ve noticed that despite all the positive spin that you’ve put on your community’s practices, there seems to be a shortage of quality anything here.  If surrendering their cutie marks has led to this, why do you keep doing it?”

“Oh, Princess, you have it all backward!” Starlight replied.  “We’re trying to build a community of equality, not of superiority.  How would you know that every one of these ponies was a lesser light in their field? Although their cutie marks said that their talent lay in cooking or farming or building, other ponies were better than them, leading to resentment and anger.  Here, nopony is better than any other, so no such conflicts exist. And where there is no animosity, friendship can truly grow!  The lack of perfection is a small price to pay.”

“And what happens if anypony does decide that the price was too high?” I asked.

“Nopony ever has,” the mare replied smugly.

Yeah, due to the brainwashing and ruthless application of social pressure, no doubt. I knew a cult leader when I saw one. They were always the most fervent.

“How do you remove cutie marks anyway?” Twilight asked.

I sighed. This wasn’t the time to indulge your scientific curiosity, Twi.  Then I changed my mind.  It could help supply the piece of the puzzle that I hadn’t figured out yet.

Starlight looked delighted and excited to be asked.  “I could show you if you wish?”

“Yes, please,” the alicorn replied.

“I can take you there right now.  Please follow me.”

We followed the unicorn out and up a path leading into the surrounding hills, our bodyguards in tow.  Starlight continued to exude enthusiasm for the practice of removing cutie marks and putting them in a vault.  That surprised me.  I had been thinking that they had been erased, but apparently, they were literally taken off ponies.  Sounded painful!

Starlight said, “I’m so delighted at your interest in the cutie mark vault. Someday we hope that everypony in Equestria will make a pilgrimage here to see how perfect equality leads to perfect friendship.” 

“Yeah, sure, Comrade Glimmer,” I muttered, noticing that we had a tail.  Double Diamond was tagging along like a good little stooge.  I had a bad feeling about this.  Still, there were seven of us to two, so we ought to be okay.

We were led inside a cavern where we were confronted by a glowing lattice of crystal cells, each one containing a cutie mark suspended in the glow of the magic holding them there.  In front of them was a small platform with a twisted wooden staff with two prongs on the end.

Starlight’s horn glowed and lifted the pole to present it to us.  “This is the Staff of Sameness, one of Mage Meadowbrook’s nine enchanted items.  This is the tool that allows us to free ourselves from our marks to bring about harmonious equality.”  Then she frowned.  “But I hear that you’ve been bringing disruptive thoughts to our community. All kinds of dangerous free-thinking.”

Uh-oh! Danger, Will Robinson!  She’s leading up to something.

Rarity attempted to placate the mare.  “Oh! We never meant to cause any disruptions to your charming little community.”

“Good! Let’s make sure of that, shall we?” Starlight declared.

“Girls – I suggest we leave.  Now!” I said urgently.

I turned around, only to see many of the other villagers quietly crowding into the cavern behind us, blocking our escape.  They still had that creepy smile on their faces, and that made me even more worried. And what had happened to our guards?

“It’s a trap!” yelled Twilight.  She lit up her horn to attack, but Starlight was ready for her, striking the alicorn with a beam from the staff.  Twilight’s spell was disrupted and she groaned in pain.

“Everypony – stop Starlight!” I screamed and charged at the mare.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were at my sides instantly, but we were too late.  A second beam from the Staff of Sameness enveloped all of us, freezing us in our tracks.  I felt something tearing at my very soul and I moaned in agony.  I couldn’t see what was happening to me, but I had a perfect view of what it was doing to Twilight.  Abruptly, her cutie mark ripped away from her hindquarters and zipped over to the staff, quickly joined by mine and those of my friends.  Then Starlight pointed the staff at the vault and each mark flew to an open cell and was locked within.  Meanwhile, we all collapsed, feeling weak and hollow.  I didn’t feel as drained as I did after Tirek sucked away my magic, but the feeling of depletion was similar.  The coats and manes on all of us took on a washed-out hue that I only now realized was what looked wrong about the townsponies. I glanced back and saw that horrendous equals sign where the cloud and thunderbolt used to be, and I shuddered. I never used to care about my cutie mark, but now that it was gone, I felt a profound loss.

Starlight approached us as we struggled to our hooves.  “I don’t blame you for what you tried to do here today.  You’ve spent your whole lives thinking those marks are a good thing.”

“Give them back!” demanded Twilight.

“No, I think not.  Now you can spend the rest of your lives here and learn how much better off you will be without your cutie marks, and contribute to the community in perfect equality.”

“Dream on, sister!  We’re not going to let you keep our cutie marks.  Come on, girls!”

I tried to lead another attack on Starlight, but that’s when the villagers pounced on us. There were two or three to every one of us and we were quickly overwhelmed.  Their sheer numbers probably accounted for our missing guards too. Starlight just stood there smiling smugly.  I never wanted to plant a hoof in a face as badly as I did then.  I couldn’t extricate myself from the grip of the townsponies though.  What shocked me was that Applejack was similarly confined.  I’ve seen that mare buck a boulder fifty feet, but now a unicorn and a pegasus were having little difficulty holding her.  Then Rainbow Dash managed to wriggle her way free and she took to the air… and promptly crashed into the ceiling and fell back to the floor.  I winced in sympathy knowing how that felt.  Come to think of it, I knew exactly how that felt.  She had just performed as badly as I did in some situations.  I shuddered.  Were her skills now equal to mine?

The missing piece of the puzzle fell into place.  The Staff of Sameness could not elevate a pony’s skills to match those of others, so it had to repress them until they were the same as everypony else who had been affected.  That’s why everything was so bad back at the village.  The baker was only as good as the worst pastry-maker in the community. The tailor was only as competent as the worst clothes-maker.  The furniture-maker was only as skilled as the worst carpenter.  I looked over to Twilight to see her attempting what had to be a powerful spell, but her efforts were doomed because I knew that she was now just as inept as the worst magic user in the group.  We were screwed.

“Take them back to the village,” ordered Starlight.  “They need to be re-educated before they can become full members of our community.”

We were dragged back to town and locked into an empty building.  Like all the others, construction was shoddy but the door was adequate enough to keep us confined.  That didn’t stop Rainbow Dash from trying, but the mare who once boasted of demolishing a barn by dive-bombing it barely made the door shudder. I tried changing into Marklestia, but that was a total failure too.  It would not have been so bad being stuck there with my friends, but a speaker in the ceiling soon started spouting slogans and propaganda incessantly.  I could hear echoes from outside, so it seemed that the locals weren’t spared reinforcement of their brainwashing either.

Twilight was going nuts listening to the drivel on the speaker.  Rarity was upset that she could not tell if the drapes were tasteful or not.  Then again, neither could I.  Fluttershy tried to talk to a bird to get help but neither understood the other. However, her efforts might not be necessary.

“Cheer up, girls.  I don’t think Starlight realizes what a can of worms she’s opened.”

“What do you mean?” Applejack asked.

“I mean that Trixie knows where we went by now, and you know for certain that she’s going to send a squad of Royal Guards after us, and me in particular.  Spike will point out the map, so they’ll know where this village is.  That means they’re only a day behind us.  As long as they stay away from that damned staff, they’re more than a match for the villagers.”

“As long as they don’t get caught by surprise like we were,” Rainbow Dash said sourly.

“Ah’m plumb sorry Ah argued against bringing more guards,” Applejack confessed.  “Maybe ours wouldn’t have been overwhelmed lahk we were.”

“What if Starlight brings the Staff of Sameness to her house?” Twilight replied.  “She caught all seven of us at once without any problem.  We can’t take the chance that she’ll do that to the Guards too.  We have to try to persuade her to give back our cutie marks.”

“Good luck with that,” I scoffed.  “I know a fanatical cultist when I hear one.”

The alicorn sighed.  “There’s something odd about that staff.  I’m certain that Mage Meadowbrook only had eight magical items, not nine, and the staff wasn’t one of them.”  She tried again to manipulate the lock with her magic but only succeeded in rattling the latch.

I thought about what she said.  My bullshit-detecting senses were still tingling and that only made it worse.  I scowled as I watched Starlight walking down the street, occasionally nudging a citizen into line.  I saw her braid a mare’s mane after a ribbon holding it fell off. My eyebrows threatened to disappear into my hairline.  “Twilight – do me a favor, will you?  Could you braid Applejack’s mane for me?”

Applejack was startled.  “Why would ya want to do that to me?  Ain’t we supposed to be resistin’ conformity?”

“It’s an experiment, AJ.  It’ll only be temporary.  Can you do it, Twi?”

“I suppose. I’ve done it many times for others.” Her horn lit and Applejack’s mane started getting manipulated.  After several excruciating minutes, the final result was a disaster.  She stared at it and groaned.  “I can’t even do that right now!”

“I figured that might be the case.  So, tell me this – why can Starlight do it effortlessly?” I asked.

Twilight’s eyes widened in surprise, as did those of a couple of the other mares. The implications were obvious.

“She’s not equally talented,” Rarity blurted out.

I nodded. “That’s my conclusion too.  So, what else is she lying about?  The staff that Twilight doesn’t recall learning about? Their supposed true friendship? What I see out there are ponies who have been cowed into conforming and brainwashed into thinking that it’s a good thing.”

“You didn’t need all that to tell me Starlight’s up to no good,” Rainbow Dash said. “But how’s that going to help us?”

“Well, we might not be able to persuade her that she’s wrong, but maybe we can make the villagers see what she’s doing to them and they can help us.”

“And if that doesn’t work?” Applejack asked skeptically.

I shrugged. “Sic Fluttershy onto her?”

The butter yellow pegasus went, “Eep!”

“How’s that supposed to help us, darling?” Rarity asked.

“Fluttershy has been quite openly pleased with what she’s seen here.  I don’t think it would take much convincing to get Starlight to accept her as a convert.  Once out of here, she could get our cutie marks back.”

We all looked expectantly at her and she cringed.  “I’m not sure I can do that.”

Twilight said, “It’s okay, Fluttershy.  We’ll try getting the villagers on our side first.”

I looked back out the window just in time to see two pegasi crash into each other mid-air. After the latest round of downgrades, they might be getting a little more frustrated with their plight. Between my clumsiness and Fluttershy’s weak flying, the winged ponies were definitely worse off.  Spike did all the cooking back home because Twilight was terrible at it, and I could only imagine what that would do to mealtimes here. While everypony had their special talents, it was also true that most ponies had something that they were really bad at doing.  When everypony was that bad, things would start falling apart pretty quickly.  We just needed to give these villagers a push in the right direction.





Sheer exhaustion finally allowed us to sleep through the incessant propaganda spouting from the speaker all night.  Rainbow Dash’s attempts to break it had failed, and Twilight’s magic had only managed to create static for as long as she could maintain her casting, which wasn’t very long at all now.

We were let out with the promise of breakfast, but only after we confronted Starlight and the villagers first.  Knowing some of the tactics used, I suspected we’d go back inside hungry.

“Come and greet your friends!” Starlight exhorted us as we trudged outside.  “Are you ready yet to put aside your false dreams of superiority and join us in true equality?  There are so many friends to be made once you do!”

“Forget it, lady!” Rainbow spat out.  “We’re going to get our cutie marks back!”

Applejack frowned and said, “Friendship don’t work like that!  You can’t force nopony to be friends!”

“We love new friends!” one of the villagers cried out.  “Please join our community.”

“It’s alright, everypony,” Starlight said.  “It’s a perfectly normal part of the equalization process…”

“No, it isn’t!” I yelled, interrupting the unicorn. “This is a straight-out attempt to brainwash us through threats, propaganda, and physical abuse.  And the worst of it is that Starlight Glimmer is lying to you.  She’s not a shining example of what she preaches either.  She’s obviously better at doing some things than the rest of us who have been equalized.”

“What are you talking about?” Starlight asked with a frown.  “Have we not shown you how we all are so happy working for a common cause in our equality?  Conformity is a blessing that comes with not having cutie marks telling us that we’re better than other ponies.”

“I notice that you didn’t explain how you’re not equal to everypony else,” I retorted. “And if conformity is so good, why do you have a manestyle that’s different from all the other mares’?  I noticed you correcting other ponies’ manes.”

“My mane is irrelevant.  If the villagers wish me to change it, I will.  I’ve had enough of this.  It’s clear that you’re not ready to accept our friendship yet.  Lock them up again.  Perhaps they’ll be more reasonable tomorrow.”

As a couple of stallions started herding us back, I resisted, saying, “What right do you have to give orders, Starlight?  If you’re all equal, why are you the one who always says how things are done?  I don’t see true friendship here; I see nothing but a power-hungry mare imposing her will on some ponies she has shamelessly taken advantage of.”

“Don’t listen to that stallion’s rants!  I’ve done nothing but work hard for the happiness of our village.”

“And see what that’s got you!  Bad food and shoddy workmanship.  Her leadership has worked to the detriment of everypony.  It’s time for fresh ideas, and if you are equal, you should elect a new mare or stallion to improve your current standing.”

“Quiet!” Starlight ordered angrily.  “I founded this town and the principles on which it was built.  That is why I lead.”

I poked my face in hers.  “Your town is doomed, Starlight Glimmer.  Your methods are as deeply flawed as your reasoning.  Equalizing everypony only brings us all down to our worst common traits, and with every new pony you add, that problem gets worse.  How many ponies have had accidents since you stole our cutie marks?  I hate to admit it, but I’m a klutz.  Flying straight is a major effort for me, and falling down stairs is a regular occurrence, but now it’s the same for every other pony here.  All of us are bad at something, and your stupid Staff of Sameness just makes everypony else that bad too.  Eventually, this whole village will die because nopony will be able to do anything useful.  And it will be all because of you!” I jabbed her in the chest for emphasis.





That finally shook the mare and for a moment I thought I might have gotten through to her. That moment passed though and she scowled back at me.  “No! Cutie marks bring nothing but misery. I’ve brought true happiness to everypony for the first time in their lives.”

I grinned at her. “So, you are saying that you have succeeded here, correct?  That everypony is an equal now?  There are no special ponies, right?”

She lifted her head proudly. “Exactly! And soon, you all will see—”

I cut her off by pointing my hoof at a random pony surrounding us.  “You!  What is your name, citizen?”

The chartreuse earth pony mare with two-tone yellow hair took a step back and looked to Starlight for guidance.

“No, no,” I continued. “Don’t look to her for permission to speak.  Everypony is equal here.  Now, what is your name?”

“It’s…” After another glance at the pink unicorn, she put down her hoof, threw out her chest, and put on a brave show, though her smile was not very convincing. “My name is Sure Shot!”

I looked back to the pink unicorn who was smiling proudly.  Not for long.

“Sure Shot, you will now be referred to as ‘Founder’.”

Starlight’s smile disappeared but I kept talking before she could protest.  “Sure Shot, you will now live in the house at the end of the street. The townsponies will look to you for guidance now, not Starlight Glimmer.  No pony gets to keep special privileges or possessions or accommodations.  Starlight seems to have forgotten that.”  I shouted to continue speaking over the mare’s protests. “After every other pony in town has been able to be ‘Founder’ for a month, then Starlight can return for her fair turn.  If you truly believe in equality, you would not object, but you do object, don’t you?”

Starlight scoffed, but I saw her glance nervously to her flock.  “Ridiculous. I only hold my position because of the love my ponies have for me.”

I sneered. “And you are counting on that love to always allow you to lead.  You may promise to step down someday but you never will because you want everypony to be equal… except for you.  You would rather die than give up control of this town, wouldn’t you, Starlight?  You would rather kill than give up control of this town, wouldn’t you, Starlight?  You are no different than every other petty dictator that ever walked on Equus.”

I pointed at Sure Shot, who was backing up quickly.  “There she is, Starlight. There is the threat to your leadership, right there. Every single pony in this town believes with all their being in exactly what you told them… that this is the only place where they can be happy by being the same as everypony else.  But now they are terrified of you because they know you aren’t equal… and you never will be.”

“Enough!  Lock them up!” Starlight yelled.

I had managed to sow the seeds of uncertainty though, and the villagers hesitated.  I didn’t.  “Let’s go get our cutie marks back!”

My friends and I tried to charge off, got tangled with other ponies as they wavered, and then the problem was compounded as pegasi crashed into us and Starlight. There was a long confusing scuffle before we found ourselves overwhelmed again.  But as I stood there panting, held by two stallions, I noticed something that brought a grin to my face.

“Hey, Starlight – your slip is showing!”

“What are you talking about?” she asked irritably.

I raised a hoof to point at her backside where makeup had been smeared, revealing something beneath the ubiquitous equals sign.

Several of the townsponies gasped as they recognized the different cutie mark that had been hidden underneath.

“You have a cutie mark!” one pony screamed.

“How could you?” a mare practically sobbed.

“You said cutie marks were evil and only led to pain and heartache!” Double Diamond choked out.

Oh, yeah – the lie was falling to pieces now.

“NO!  I’m not the problem!” Starlight insisted. She pointed at us.  “They are.  Look at all the disharmony and trouble they’ve caused just trying to get their cutie marks back!”

“But they’ve been blessed by the Staff of Sameness, so according to you, they should not want them anymore.  They should be happy to have them gone, but they’re not, and neither are we!”

I was impressed.  Starlight’s former stooge was now the one speaking loudest against her.

“Why did you take ours and not give up your own?” Sugar Belle asked.

Starlight looked like a cornered rat.  “I… I had to, you fools!  How could I collect your cutie marks without my magic?!”

“But… the Staff has all the magic that we need,” Night Glider pointed out.

“The Staff is a stick of wood that I found in the desert!” Starlight sneered.  “It’s my magic that made this all possible.  If it wasn’t for me, you’d all still be living your miserable lives thinking that you’re better than everypony else.  I brought you friendship.  I brought you equality.  I created harmony!”

“You lied to us!” Double Diamond yelled.

“So what? Everything else I’ve said is true. The only way for us to be happy is for us to be all equal.”

Party Favor scowled and replied, “As Mark Wells pointed out, all except you.”

Starlight’s expression was thunderous and her horn lit up.  I gulped.  Things were looking bad.  If Starlight snapped…

Twilight stepped forward, trying to ameliorate the situation.  “Everypony has unique talents and gifts, and when we share them with each other—”

“QUIET!” screamed Starlight.

“No, Starlight, I won’t be quiet.  You’ve had your say, and now it’s my turn.  I don’t call myself the Princess of Friendship for nothing.  Discovering true friendship and the happiness that it brings is the lesson I learned that enabled me and my friends to save Equestria from Nightmare Moon, and to defeat Discord, and then make him an ally.  It’s what helped me earn my wings and gave me direction in my life.  And it’s why the Tree of Harmony gifted us with a magical means to find those who need our friendship the most.  What you have espoused is a delusion based on a lie, and honesty is one of the basic tenets of Harmony and friendship.”  She stepped back and my friends and I gathered around her.  “We’re all so much stronger because of it.”

The gathered ponies gasped.  Without noticing it at first, we had begun to glow.  Then our hooves left the ground as we started rising into the air.  When colors started flashing around us, I suddenly recognized what was happening.  Just as it had back in the Tree of Harmony’s cave, the Elements were expressing themselves through their special rainbow magic.  The Elements of Harmony were once again adorned with bright flowing colors.  The pink unicorn lowered her head and shot a light-blue beam, but it was absorbed harmlessly by a pulsing yellow sphere that surrounded the seven of us.

“No!  How is this possible?  You have no special magic!” gasped Starlight.

“You’re wrong, Starlight.  You may have taken my cutie mark, but within me, I carry the most powerful magic of all. The Magic of Friendship makes all things possible,” Twilight replied as her horn lit up.  Not just from the alicorn, but from all of us, a rainbow beam formed from the bubble and arced towards the unicorn.

A moment before Starlight was struck, she teleported away.  With the threat gone, the sphere surrounding us faded away.

As we settled down on the ground, Double Diamond yelled, “Let’s get our cutie marks back!”

“Yeah!” the villagers chorused, dashing off towards the cave.

My friends and I followed them.  Without knowing where Starlight had teleported, getting our cutie marks back was the next highest priority.  On the way, I turned to Twilight and said, “You know – if you had managed to open that box before Tirek showed his face, that stunt we just pulled would have been really useful fighting him.”

Twilight nodded.  “True. And if wishes were fishes, pegasi would never starve.  Besides, you might never have gained your present ability to transform at will into your pegacorn form.”

Yeah, she had me there.

By the time we got to the cave, the villagers were already pounding at the vault with their hooves, but in their weak equalized state, their efforts were insufficient to break it.  We were still powered up with the rainbow power of Harmony, and Twilight drew on our strength to shatter the crystal cutie mark container.  Brightly glowing balls of light shot out of the vault and flew around the cave until they found their owners.  As each pony’s mark found its place, that mare or stallion rose into the air and glowed, then returned to the earth restored to their true selves, delight bringing smiles of joy to their faces.

“Now that’s what I call true smiles!” Pinkie said with great satisfaction.

“But where are our cutie marks?” I asked as our rainbow power died away, leaving us in our equalized and weakened state.

Double Diamond walked up to us with regret etched on his features.  “I’m sorry, but Starlight told me to fetch your cutie marks and bring them to her house.  She said that she had special plans for them.”

“Oh, no!” Rarity gasped.  “We must go there at once!”

“We’ll help,” several of the villagers said.

We dashed out of the cave but the normalized ponies quickly outpaced us.  Night Glider knocked down the locked door just as we caught up, and we rushed into the house.  I tripped on my nemesis the stairs, blocking the way before I was helped to my hooves by a sympathetic pony.  We spread out, checking all the rooms before Fluttershy found a now uncovered secret tunnel that had been hidden under the bed.  Night Glider took the lead down the tunnel, followed by Party Favor, Sure Shot, and Double Diamond.  Twilight and I came next, with our friends right behind us.  We eventually emerged from the tunnel somewhere in the hills surrounding the village and we started looking around for the fleeing unicorn.

“There she is!” Night Glider shouted, her superior pegasus vision picking the galloping mare out on a path leading into the mountains.

Party Favor pulled some balloons out of nowhere, blew them up, and started manipulating them.  He held the result up to his eyes like the binoculars that they now resembled.  I shrugged – I’d seen Pinkie do crazier things.

“That’s Starlight alright,” Party Favor said.  “She’s pulling a cart and I see jars with your cutie marks in them.”

Sugar Belle said, “There’s a whole network of caves and tunnels up there.  She could lose us easily and your cutie marks will be gone forever if she gets there before we can catch her.”

“Then let’s get moving, y’all!” Applejack declared, trotting off.

Rainbow Dash tried her best to speed away but was stymied by her diminished capabilities. She looked so frustrated!  “Oh, come on!” she screamed.

Sure Shot pulled a large slingshot out of her mane.  I noted that its shape matched the one now on her flanks.  “Night Glider!  Can you get me close to her?”

The pegasus nodded and went to pick up the earth pony around her barrel but Sure Shot held up a hoof.  “Wait! I need something to shoot!  It has to be the size of my hoof or smaller and hard. The more spherical the better.”

Everypony looked around at each other with frowns.  Double Diamond said, “Everything is back at town.  There aren’t even any good-sized rocks out here.”

Pinkie trotted up with a bag in hoof.  “Will these muffins do?”

Twilight blinked.  “You held onto those?”

The party mare shrugged.  “I was waiting until I was hungry enough to eat them.  Even with my taste buds comatose, I still didn’t want to.”  She turned to Sugar Belle.  “No offense.”

Sure Shot grabbed the bag and opened it, peering inside.  “These will do.”  She nodded at Night Glider and the pegasus soon was carrying the mare away from us at an impressive speed.  I had a thought and yelled after them “Free Twilight’s cutie mark first!”  Sure Shot looked back at me, the bag in her mouth. She nodded then looked forward again.

Everypony ran after Starlight, but there were no other fliers in the group of citizens who had followed us through the tunnel. The pegasus aversion to enclosed spaces had doubtless deterred them.  Soon, the other townsponies left my friends and I behind as we could only travel at my quick canter – I still had not mastered a full gallop.

The Elements and I stopped at a bend in the mountain path that let us overlook a valley below.  A long, thin stone bridge connected our mountain to another.  The path led to a clearing with a large cave, obviously her destination.

Starlight was past the bridge and looked over her shoulder directly at us and came to a halt. Turning herself and the wagon around completely, she looked where the townsponies were descending the mountain, perhaps a minute away from reaching her.  The pink unicorn pointed her horn down at the bridge and it began to glow brighter and brighter.

Just then, Night Glider flew up above the side of the mountain just behind Starlight and Sure Shot let fly one of Sugar Belle’s muffins.

At the tinkling sound, Starlight’s eyes went wide and she looked around to see Night Glider, who wisely dove out of the way of Starlight’s horn blast.  While she was distracted, I looked more closely at a burst of energy that was streaking towards us.  It was lavender in color.

Glancing back at Starlight, I saw she had turned around again and was galloping for the cave and safety. Turning to Twilight, I observed her cutie mark attaching itself followed by a blinding flash of magic that made Twilight look like a black silhouette against pure white.

When the spots cleared from my eyes, I saw Twilight’s mane and coat colors had returned to normal.  She had her wings spread, a confident smile on her face, and her eyes started to glow.

I felt the wrench of teleportation and all of us were standing in the mouth of the cave, looking back at the mountainside we had come from and Starlight galloping at full speed, almost on top of us.  Her eyes opened wide and she teleported back several feet as the wagon continued to hurtle towards us.  Twilight threw up a shield and the wagon smashed to pieces on it, though the remaining jars floated to safety in the pink unicorn’s aura to a spot behind her. Starlight used the distraction to cast the familiar cutie mark-stealing spell at all of us, but it flowed harmlessly around the bubble Twilight created.

“Wha—?” gasped Starlight.  “It took me years to perfect that spell!  How could you—?”

“I studied magic for years too, but what I didn’t know then was that studying could only take me so far.  Each of my friends has taught me something different about myself.  It was their unique gifts, talents, and passions that helped bring out the magic inside of me.  I never would have learned that I represent the Element of Magic without these five mares.  And I certainly wouldn’t be here to stop you now.”  Twilight smiled. “Besides, cutie mark magic is extremely difficult, not impossible.  Once I saw how you did it, I knew how to counter it.”

“Spare me your sentimental nonsense!”  The pink unicorn powered up her horn and turned to the side.  “You have a choice, Princess.  Either let me pass with your friends’ cutie marks or I will destroy the bridge with the villagers on it.”

I was struck by fear but surprised to see Twilight smirk.  “So, you are saying Mark Wells was right.  You would rather kill ponies than let them live free of your control.”

Starlight’s head jerked back and her eyes went wide.  That’s when Twilight struck.  Snow spiraled towards Starlight from her left which the unicorn easily blocked with a shield. That meant she did not see the stones Twilight had thrown from her other side until it was nearly too late.  Despite a second shield thrown up that protected the jars more than the mare, I heard the tinkling of glass, and an orange streak of energy shot toward us. Applejack soon joined the fray.

Beams of magic, numerous teleports, and rocks flying everywhere added to the chaos. The nature of cutie marks or the cages that confined them apparently made them unable to be teleported. Instead, the pink mare would send them flying in the direction she was going to go, then catch them the moment she reappeared.  To my amazement, Starlight seemed perfectly capable of blocking and countering Twilight’s attacks.  The mare was limited by needing to keep the remaining jars away from every pony and all the debris, but she wasn’t perfect.  A snowball from down the path knocked another jar out of Starlight’s magic field.  I turned to see that Double Diamond, Sugar Belle, and Party Favor had arrived.  A restored Rarity ran out of the cave and immediately started clumping and throwing snowballs at a prodigious rate.  

Soon, I saw a wagon wheel fly through the air and barely miss a distracted Starlight Glimmer, though it did break another of the jars on its way past.  A revitalized Fluttershy trotted out from the cave entrance and tried to calm everypony down, but no one was listening.

I had seen Twilight’s lavender field start to form around the blue aura surrounding the jars, only to slough off as it could not get enough purchase.  Suddenly, solid spikes of purple magic shot in from both sides, smashing two of the three remaining jars together.

As Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash waited for their cutie marks to reach them, Starlight screamed in frustration.  The final jar whizzed towards me, not far overhead.  I heard the sound of teleportation from inside the cave and saw the pink unicorn way down the cavern.  This time, Twilight and Starlight grabbed the jar simultaneously and both fields overlapped as they fought for it.  My cutie mark vibrated in its prison as it became apparent how much Starlight was a match for Twilight in the strength of their unicorn magic.  I leaped for it but it remained tantalizingly out of reach.  The tug-of-war was settled by another muffin from Sure Shot.

As I felt the magic of my cutie mark settle on my flank, I looked back to Starlight Glimmer. Her face was twisted in rage as she glared at me.  “I gave these ponies real friendships they could never have had otherwise!”

“How do you know that?” demanded Double Diamond as he trotted up beside me.  “You never even gave us a chance!”

“Forget it, guys,” I said.  “You’re talking to a fanatic who can’t see past her own bias.”

Starlight scowled at me before her horn lit up again.  Twilight prepared to shield us but the unicorn abruptly disappeared in another teleport.  Hoofbeats echoed from the cave informing us where she had gone.

“She’s getting away!” cried Rainbow Dash.

“Don’t bother trying to follow her,” Double Diamond said.  “It’s a real maze in there, and the echoes only deceive you as to where they’re coming from.”

Twilight said, “We can only hope that when she’s had the time to think it over, she’ll realize that you all have taught her something.”  I frowned.  That last look made me doubt the zealot was going to do anything but blame the seven of us and plan her revenge.  One of the scenarios Shining and I had run with the Royal Guards involved stopping an overpowered unicorn, and I mentally moved way up the need to find countermeasures.

Party Favor said, “It’s you who have taught us something.  We all came to this village because we were searching for something missing from our lives.  We thought that Starlight had given it to us.  But now it seems it was in front of us all along.  It’s us!”  He and Double Diamond, Night Glider, Sure Shot, and Sugar Belle all embraced.

Ponies were such huggy people!

“Does that mean you’ll stay in the village?” Twilight asked.

“It’s our home,” Night Glider replied.  “I’m not going anywhere!”

Sure Shot said, “This is our chance to really get to know each other for the very first time.”

“And I have a chance to bake something other than terrible muffins!” declared Sugar Belle.

We all laughed at that, and Pinkie wiped her brow in relief.



 

Upon returning to the village, we found our embarrassed bodyguards who had freed themselves after getting their cutie marks back.  Considering how easily we had been captured, I could hardly blame them for being caught by surprise.

While Sugar Belle baked up a storm with the help of some willing (and competent) assistants, the rest of the villagers went about fixing up the town for some celebrations. By the time the feast was ready, Party Favor had the street gaily decorated to Pinkie’s high standards. She was also approving of the genuinely happy expressions that had replaced the forced smiles.

A weird sensation from my upper thigh caused me to look around to see what it was, and I saw the girls do the same.  Our cutie marks were flashing once more.

“I’m never gonna get used to that,” Applejack declared.

“Well, I think it’s divine,” Rarity demurred.

“Does that mean the map is calling us somewhere else?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight replied, “I have a feeling that it means our work here is done.”

“Looks like you were right, Twilight,” Applejack said.  “The map did have a reason for sending us here.  We brought real friendship to these here ponies.  Ah guess why that’s the reason why yer the Princess of Friendship.”

“But the map didn’t just send me – it sent us. You’re a part of me.  All of you,” she added, looking at me in particular. “And there’s no doubt that you’re a part of my mission to spread friendship too.”

The girls ‘awwed’ and hugged Twilight.  I rolled my eyes at their sappiness but joined in after Rarity gave me a pointed look.

After we broke apart, Pinkie asked, “Now that our mission is complete, do we have to go? Because that Sugar Belle sure can bake!”

Twilight chuckled and replied, “I think we can stay a little while longer.”

We walked down the street to join the others, and the villagers welcomed us joyfully. Pinkie was right – Sugar Belle’s pastries were awesome.

Our feasting was nearly complete when something caught my eye.

“Don’t look now, guys, but the cavalry has arrived.”  I pointed up into the hills.

Coming over the rise was Steady Flight at the vanguard of a full squad of Royal Guards.

“Time to face the music,” I sighed.

“Don’t worry, friends,” Party Favor said with a grin.  “We’ve got this.  Coming, Pinkie?”

The military never stood a chance.





Oh, there were consequences once we got back home.  Trixie was not amused, and she read the riot act to all of us including Twilight.  The alicorn was adamant that they had done the right thing and wouldn’t back down.  The two spent all day thrashing out a new agreement, while Raven and I worked to stop either of them going too far. Frankly, I was pleased that Twilight was finally getting some backbone in her role as Princess of Equestria, but I still had to side with Trixie because she rightfully pointed out that the problem could have waited a few days while proper security arrangements were made.  That, of course, screwed me too because I had ditched Trixie and she sure didn’t let me forget it.

After things calmed down, I began to think more about the temporary removal of my cutie mark and how it had affected me.  Up until now, it really hadn’t mattered to me and, frankly, I could have lived without ever having one.  But I did, and it had to mean something.  It didn’t change when I took my pegacorn form, so it was an integral part of me, but I didn’t understand what.  Its loss had profoundly troubled me but I didn’t know why.  I felt it was time to find out.

There was just one other mystery to clear up, and I can’t believe that not one of us thought to ask – what the heck was the name of Starlight’s village?!


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