Deep in the ditch, Ash had lost consciousness due to the thick air. He had been separated from Pikachu but not his other Pokemon. He luckily sent out Dragonite before he passed out. The Dragon Pokemon looked at its trainer, seeing him in this state. Dragonite knew that it had to get them out of here as soon as possible. If it were to use Hyper Beam at the top, the explosion could bring this whole place crumbling down and harm Ash. Its next option was Dragon Claw.
"Wait!" A voice called from somewhere in the ditch. Dragonite turned around to see that there were other humans down here. Their clothes all dirty from spending a lot of time here as Dragonite could hear their stomach rumbling, indicating they haven't eaten for a while. "Don't leave us behind!"
"Dra?"
"Oh thank Arceus. We thought we'd never see some string of hope." A man said.
"Dragonite?"
"We were trapped down here by that Starlight Glimmer pony and her Hatterene. She took our Pokemon from us, knowing we'd retaliate against her Hatterene." A woman said.
"She looked so nice and convincing. How can a pony be this sinister?"
"Please! We beg of you Dragonite! Even if you don't understand us."
Dragonite knew it had to get them all out of here. These poor humans were taken away from their Pokemon and their freedom by Starlight and Hatterene.
So Dragonite used Dragon Claw to break through the ceiling, destroying the hatch in the process. Dragonite brought Ash back to the surface, giving him so air. The humans followed suit, feeling the fresh air once more. The only two left in the room were Hatterene and Pikachu. Starlight and Adagio were already gone a few seconds ago. Pikachu was resiting the Hypnosis as he knew his best friend was separated from him.
"P-PI...PIKA..."
"Hatterene." Hatterene put more focus in her Hypnosis, but was stopped by Dragonite's Dragon Claw to the back, sending the Psychic-Type crashing into the walls, knocking her out for a bit and stopping the Hypnosis."
"Pi... Pika-ka?" Pikachu ran over to Dragonite as the Dragon Pokemon hugged him. Ash was gaining consciousness as the air came back to him.
"Ugh..man..."
"Pika-Pi!"
"Pikachu. Glad to see you're okay. That Hatterene got us good huh? And who are you all?"
"We were trapped down there too. But thankfully your Dragonite was a quick thinker." A man explained. "It feels good to be back on the surface!"
"Let's get out of here as soon as possible-" Just as the lady said that Hatterene stood back up, grabbing all of them with Psychic.
"Hatt..."
"N-Not again!"
"Hatterene. Hatt." Hatterene knew she couldn't put them back down in the ditch since Dragonite has practically destroyed the hatch to it. So it decided to find a new place to hide them all. First, it had to take out the biggest threat here. Dragonite. To do that, Hatterene would have to use the second form of Hypnosis. The one that puts anyone to sleep. So it did just that. It used Hypnosis on Dragonite, putting the Dragon Pokemon to sleep, eliminating a huge obstacle.
"Oh no, Dragonite!" Ash cried out.
"Dra..." Dragonite was sound asleep. Hatterene now had to deal with the rest of them. While the ditch may be destroyed, Hatterene can improvise. So she used shoved them all back inside the ditch and then used more of her psychic power to grab as much furniture as she could, blocking the hole made by Dragonite in the ditch.
Once again they had all been trapped down there. But this time Ash knew to hold his breath. He had to think fast, or else it was game over. The only thing he could do now was to lessen the thickness of the air.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail on the walls! Quick!" Pikachu quickly acted, slashing the walls of the ditch as more air was being created by each part of the walls being destroyed. Ash could now breathe much better here. "Thanks, Pikachu. Now we just need to get out of here again. Dragonite's still up there."
"Wait!" A lady stopped him. "What if that Hatterene is still up there? It could use Psychic us back down here."
"I know." Ash was going to go for the first option, but his mind quickly thought of something else. "Unless... I got a new idea! Do you all have your Pokemon with you?"
"No. Starlight Glimmer made her Hatterene control them."
"Oh. Then it's up to you guys." Ash took out his other Pokeballs, sending out Gengar, Riolu and Farfetch'd. "Gengar. Can you phase through these walls and do something for me quickly? I want you to go out there and see what you can do. Try and wake Dragonite up first."
Back at the outside of the town.
Pinkie Pie and Slurpuff had eaten all the muffins, feeling sick from it.
"I can't believe you ate all our muffins Pinkie Pie." Applejack spoke out loud, trying to draw their attention. "We'd best go inside and get some more." The group stood up, walking to where Sugar Belle told them to meet up.
"Nice work you two." Twilight said as Pinkie Pie and Slurpuff were lagging behind.
"I've eaten cardboard tastier than that..." Pinkie sighed.
"Hello? Sugar Belle?" Twilight called for her.
"Thank you for coming." Sugar Belle showed herself with that everlasting smile.
"Why did you want us to come down here?" Twilight asked.
"So that nopony could see what's about to happen."
Just then, from the corners, Party Favor and Double Diamond and another pony showed up as well. Twilight and the group were getting nervous as the young alicorn was ready to act with her horn glowing and Raboot ready for Goh to give a command.
"Are you really the Princess of Friendship?" Party Favor suddenly said.
"Do know Princess Celestia?" The pony asked.
"I love your Cutie Mark!" Sugar Belle grabbed Pinkie's flank.
"How can you be friends with different Cutie Marks? Don't you end up hating each other?" The pegasus pony questioned.
"Oh, look at this one. This one's great too." Sugar Belle did the same to Fluttershy's. "I'd love to have my special talent back. Even just for a day. Make something besides those disgusting muffins." She sighed.
"So what's stopping you?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Go get your Cutie Marks back."
"Daydreaming is one thing. But you mean... actually having it put back on?" Party Favor replied. "That seems extreme."
"I'm not sure Starlight would like that. She wants us all to be happy in our sameness." said Sugar Belle.
"How do you take somepony's Cutie Mark anyway?" Twilight wondered.
"The Cutie Unmarking is a beautiful experience. Starlight uses the Staff of Sameness to magically take them away and replace them with these." The pegasus said as they all showed their equal marks.
"But...nopony should keep you from your Cutie Mark. It represents such an essential part of who you are." Twilight replied.
"Oh, we're not kept from them. They're in the vault, up in the caves. We can visit them anytime we like to remind of us the heartache of a life with special talents." The pegasus was saying ludicrous things. Speaking like losing their marks wasn't that big of a deal anyways.
"Can we visit this cave?" Twilight asked.
They gladly let them. They took them to Starlight as she was leading them to this vault.
"I'm delighted you're interested in our Cutie Mark vault. We hope someday, everypony in Equestria will make a pilgrimage here in our little village. To have theirs removed too. And our message of perfect-" Starlight kept on talking.
"This must be the reason we're here." Twilight whispered.
"Pilgrimaging?" said Pinkie Pie.
"No. Helping those ponies get their Cutie Marks back."
"Oh. Are you are sure Twilight?" Fluttershy retorted. "Maybe they miss them a little, but even they didn't seem all that unhappy."
"Then why did they want to meet us in secret?" Twilight looked back to see Double Diamond walking behind them. "And why did they ask us not to tell Starlight who told us about the vault? Something's not right."
"Just through here." Starlight entered a large cave as the others did so too. "Behold!" They all looked at what was in front of them. It was unreal. So many Cutie Marks encased and trapped. Taken away from their original ponies. All shining bright. "Our Cutie Mark Vault!"
"I've never seen anything like it. "Twilight was stunned.
"And here... is the staff of Sameness." Starlight walked up to the wooden staff. "It was one of the Great Mage MeadowBrook's Nine Enchanted Items. We are incredibly fortunate to have it here. This is the tool that allows us to free ourselves from our marks." Starlight held it with her magic. "I'm curious. How did the subject of the vault come up?"
"Oh, someponies were telling us how much they miss their Cutie Marks and-" Pinkie spilled the truth.
"Pinkie Pie!" Twilight stopped her.
"Oops."
"Ah! Were they? Well...it seems you inspire all sorts of free thinking. Don't you?"
"Oh. Well-w-we certainly didn't intend to cause any disruptions to your charming little-" Rarity said but Starlight got up in her face.
"Good. Let's just make sure of that. Shall we?" Starlight's face morphed from the happy smile to the devious smile. Rarity backed up as she bumped into Double Diamond. Other ponies started coming through the holes of the caves all of a sudden. All around.
"It's a trap!" Twilight exclaimed. She used her magic to teleport herself up, ready to blast her magic. However, Starlight thought quickly as fired a magic wave, seemingly from the staff as it hit Twilight. Twilight could feel motionless as her Cutie Mark was being ripped out of her. She was straining as Eve looked up at her trainer.
"Eevee!" Eevee attempted to use Swift to save her, but Hatterene who was lurking in the shadows, stopped the Evolution Pokemon with Psychic. And just like that, Twilight's Cutie Mark was taken from her. That easily.
Starlight then placed the mark right in the vault, adding it to her collection. Now Twilight had the Equal Mark as she fell down.
"This is not good. Raboot! Ember!" Goh strained Raboot spat out an Ember of fire. Hatterene simply moved out of the way, avoiding it.
Rainbow Dash tried to reach for her Pokeballs but Hatterene made sure that their hooves and arms weren't going anywhere.
"Psychic is a very useful Pokemon move isn't it? Saves up the trouble of me having to hold you all." Starlight laughed.
"A-Audi! Hyper Beam!" Fluttershy yelled.
"Slurpuff. Do whatever it is you know!" shouted Pinkie Pie. Slurpuff conjured up an Energy Ball in front of it.
"Hatterene. Be a dear and stop them with Light Screen." Starlight commanded as Hatterene multi-tasked, setting up a Light Screen to block the attacks. "Your turn." Starlight zapped them all as well, slowly taking away their marks in the process. Now they were left with no Cutie Mark. Stored in the vault with the rest. And gaining the Equal Mark. Hatterene dropped the ponies but kept the Pokemon and Goh still. "I don't blame you for what you tried to do here today. You've spent your whole lives those marks are a good thing."
"Give them back!" Twilight shouted.
"Well. Now you can spend the rest of your lives here. With us. And we'll teach you just how much better life can be without your Cutie Marks."
"You wish! Like our Pokemon would let that happen!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Oh, but your Pokemon will be happy too. Hatterene. If you would?" Hatterene had then used Hypnosis on the Pokemon, turning their state of mind's blank as that same pinkish glow emerged in their eyes. Similar to how the other Pokemon back in the town looked. Hatterene had then forced them to give off a big smile. "See? Now they're happy too. If you were good trainers you'd understand your Pokemon and how much they love it here." Starlight then walked over to Goh. "As for you. Into the ditch you go." Hatterene carried Goh off, aiming to place him in the ditch with the other humans.
Just then, Adagio showed up, smirking as she saw Twilight and friends without their marks.
"Adagio?!" Twilight yelled.
"Stings doesn't it? Having something special taken from you huh?" Adagio taunted the Mane 6. "Not bad Glimmer."
"Thank you Adagio. Now I hope that you've considered joining us as well too."
"You two are teaming up?" Fluttershy said.
"A small little union. Adagio here told me how you took away what made her stand out the most while you all kept your talents. Hearing that upset me. It shouldn't be fair at all. If she doesn't get to do what makes her special...then neither can you. That way it's all fair."
"Now I get to see you be nothing for the rest of your lives!" Adagio grinned, being all up in Twilight's face.
"Alright. I think you've vented enough, Adagio. How about we put you all in a nice little home until you learn how wonderful life can be with simplicity and without Cutie Marks."
"You won't get away with this! Ash and Pikachu are still out there!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Oh? Ash Ketchum? I made sure Hatterene dealt with him. He won't be a problem anymore."
"Make sure to take their Pokeballs too. They've still got other Pokemon with them." Adagio said.
"Smart thinking." Starlight used her magic to snatch all of their Pokeballs, taking their Pokemon away from them.
"Give back our Pokemon!" Rainbow Dash ran to Starlight but she felt too weak.
"Now. Let's get going shall we?"
The Mane 6 were all taken to this lone building, trapped inside of it. There was a speaker on the walls telling them to free themselves of their Cutie Marks. Rainbow Dash was putting in the most effort, trying to break the door down, but to no avail as the others just sat there.
"Hey. This is pretty good." PInkie was reading a book with nothing but the equal sign in it.
"Ugh. We've got to find a way out of here." Twilight groaned. "I can't take much more of that voice."
"Oh this is horrible!" Rarity started to cry.
"There there Rarity." Fluttershy went to comfort her. "It's not so bad."
"Yes it is! Look at those drapes! I have no idea if they're tacky or not!"
"Well... I think they're nice."
All of a sudden, the Equal Cutie Mark on Rarity started to pulsate as she cry more. "SO DO I!"
Fluttershy backed away as bird flew in. "Oh thank goodness. Can you help us little birdie?" She tried to talking to it, but without her Cutie Mark, her talent to talk to all forms of animals was gone. So the bird had no idea what she was talking about. "Go on. Fly away and get us help." The bird tweeted as it flew off, confused. "Oh. Even tweets don't make sense anymore."
Applejack ran forward, bucking the door, but nothing worked. It was sealed tight. "This door's shut tigher than a...summer of...of piglets in... shoot! I can't even make countryisms anymore!"
"I don't know. Maybe it'll be super fun to be all the same!" Pinkie tried to keep her optimism, but the Equal Cutie Mark quickly changed that, making her lose all her excitement. "Sort of. More pleasant that fun I guess..."
"Something odd about that staff." Twilight uttered. "I haven't studied Eastern Unicorns as much as I should've. But I'm pretty sure Meadowbrook only had eight magical items. Not nine. And I don't remember any of them being a staff."
"Well it looks like you'll have plenty of time trying to think about it." Applejack laid on her back.
And so they sat there. Waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Time kept on moving along. No progress was being made. They had neither experienced such boredom, such staleness like this in their entire life before. Time passed as it seemed like night was coming along.
As for Ash, his plan was being put into motion. What Gengar was doing this entire time was phasing through everything and hiding in the shadows, observing. Gengar at first didn't know where Twilight and the others were, unaware of the vault's existence. But after some snooping about, Gengar saw something that caught its eye. It quickly returned to Ash to spill the news.
For his other Pokemon, Riolu, Farfetch'd and Pikachu had gone in deeper in the ditch by using their attacks. And once they and the humans went in further, Ash saw someone familiar.
"Is that... Goh!"
Goh was in the ditch, all dirty like the rest of them. "Ash! There you are! Were you here too the entire time?"
"Yeah. So much for a drink of water."
"Pika! Pika-Pika!" Pikachu called out to Ash.
"What is it Pikachu?"
Pikachu, Riolu and Farfetch'd had found a hole that led to the surface. Up there, it seemed to be a cave as there was a blue light coming from that direction.
"There's surface! Finally!" A human yelled.
"Let's get out of here quick!" All the people started to run towards the hole, ready to get out. Once they went through, they came across the vault where all the Cutie Marks were being held. This was the exact same cave Twilight and the others were in previously. "What the...?"
"Are those.." Goh gazed at the vault.
"Cutie Marks. So many of them." Ash replied. He even spotted his friends's Cutie Marks. "Twilight's Cutie Mark? Fluttershy and Applejack's too?!"
"Pika!"
"Don't tell me they've already gotten them?!" Goh exclaimed. Suddenly, Ash could feel a familiar presence around.
He and Pikachu turned their heads to see a familiar figure. Hatterene was around in the dark. But this time, she wasn't going to hold them down anymore.
"Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Ash thought quick on his feet as Pikachu quickly dashed over at Hatterene, striking her in the face.
"PIKA!"
"Hatt!"
All the humans turned around to see Hatterene. Fearing that she may place them back in.
"All of you go! I can handle Hatterene now." Ash said as all the humans immedietaly booked it, running out of the cave. One of the humans ended up knocking over the supposed magical stick, breaking it a piece of it. They ran out to not only get out of here, but to get their Pokemon back. "I won't let you trap us anymore! Riolu! Vaccuum Wave! Pikachu! Electroweb!"
Pikachu tossed an Electrified web forward as Riolu sent waves of vaccuums at Hatterene. The Psychic-Fairy-Type avoided the waves but was was caught by the web, getting shocked in the process. Hatterene broke through the web by using Psycho Cut. Hatterene then used Psychic, grabbing huge rocks from the walls as it sent them flying at them. Ash and Goh avoided the rocks as Farfetch'd destroyed them with Brutal Swing.
Hatterene then teleported behind Pikachu, grabbing him with her tentacle.
"Pika!"
Hatterene then tossed Pikachu into the hard cave walls as it then used Psychic on Riolu and Farfetch'd, knocking them back. Pikachu retaliated by shocking her with his electric body.
"Iron Tail!" Pikachu then smacked Hatterene's face with its Iron Tail, making her feel it. Hatterene knew that Starlight's perfect utopia could crumble here and now. And the vault of Cutie Marks was right there. So in order to make sure nothing goes wrong, Hatterene shot a Psycho Cut in the air, breaking through the cave ceiling. It kept on firing more Psycho Cuts high up, calling for Starlight.
Starlight saw the Psycho Cuts flying up in the sky. "What in Equestria is going on over there? Hatterene? Somepony go and check that out."
"It's probably that Ketchum kid." Adagio said. "I knew we should've just offed him. He's too much of a threat."
"I'm sure my Hatterene has it all under control." Just then, a bolt of thunder soared in the skies as well. "Actually. That looks serious. I'll go check on it. Everypony make sure our new friends don't try anything funny okay?" Starlight walked off, heading to the direction of the chaos. Gengar had overheard this as it went over to where Dragonite was, trying to wake its fellow Pokemon up.
Hatterene had put up a Light Screen to block all incoming attacks from Ash's Pokemon. Pikachu tried to break through with Thunderbolt, but the Light Screen negated it. Riolu and Farfetch'd used Force Palm and Night Slash on the Light Screen, almost shattering it. Hatterene realised things were getting desperate. So she teleported behind Ash, grabbing him with her tentacle claw.
"Pika-Pi!"
"L-Let me go!" Ash struggled to break free from the Silent Pokemon's tough grip.
Pikachu and the others were about to attack, but Hatterene stopped them by placing Ash in front of them. If they did anything, Hatterene would rip Ash apart violently. Hatterene used Hypnosis from her eyes, putting Riolu and Farfetch'd to sleep. But Pikachu knew to close his eyes this time, avoiding Hypnosis. Hatterene seeing this decided to try another approach. Using Psychic to lift Pikachu up, immoblizing him.
"What's going on here?!" Starlight had arrived, seeing the current situation. "Oh my. Good job as always Hatterene."
"S-Starlight!"
"Ash Ketchum. I don't know how you got out of there. But you're slowly but surely starting to annoy me. What do I do with you? Clearly you're much more dangerous with your Pokemon around. So I'll be taking them away from you so that you don't try any funny business." Starlight used her magic to pick up the sleeping Riolu and Farfetch'd. "As for that Pikachu. I know what to do with it. Hatterene. Place him in the vault."
Hatterene had sent Pikachu over to the vault, placing him inside an open space. She shoved the Electric Mouse inside of it, trapping him in. Pikachu tried to use thunderbolt to break free but he didn't have enough space to fire a powerful one. If he had his Thundershock ability from a long time ago, it would come in handy right now. He tried using Iron Tail, but again, he's cramped in there.
"There we go. That solves that problem. Now for you. You're too much trouble... but I suppose I can keep you around. Hatterene. Hypnosis." Hatterene looked Ash in the eyes, sending a hypnotic wave at him. Starlight thinking that all her worries are now gone, walked off. "Now that we have him apart of our utopia, let's go and make Twilight and her friends understand the beauty of our town."
Meanwhile with Gengar, who was still trying to wake Dragonite up, was wasting time. So Gengar decided to go for the best possible outcome and what it knows best. Scare everypony. Gengar increased its size, growing to an astronimical level as it phased through the building. Everypony looked up, seeing the Ghost-Type Pokemon emerge. Gengar terrified them all, scaring everypony as they were tunning for the hills.
This screaming had woken the Mane 6 up as they looked outside, seeing Gengar.
"Gengar?!" Twilight yelled.
"GEN GEN GEN!"
Starlight was walking back with Hatterene as they saw everypony running away. "What the? What are you all running away from?!" She asked, trying to stop them. But when she turned around, she saw what it was that spooked them all. Starlight saw Gengar for the first time, even being terrified herself. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF EQUESTRIA IS THAT?!" Everypony hid behind Starlight, hoping she'd do something.
Hatterene on the other hand could see through it. It was just another Ghost-Type Pokemon being mischievous to her. So she unleashed a Psycho Cut, hitting Gengar in the face. This made Gengar revert back to its normal size, making the ponies realise it was just mind games. They all let out a sigh of relief, glad it wasn't an actual giant.
"Trying to fool us huh? Sorry, but that's not acceptable behavior here in our town." Starlight walked over to Gengar.
"Gen.." Gengar phased back into the ground, vanishing.
"Everypony get back to the town. It was just a Ghost-Type Pokemon playing tricks on us." Starlight them all back to town as Twilight and others sat down again. They were hoping that Gengar could've gotten them out.
It all seemed hopeless until...
"I've got it! I know how we can get out!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Forget it Twilight. This door's not opening." Rainbow sighed.
"And I'm afraid the windows are much too small for escape." Rarity said.
"But there is a third way."
"Of course! Eventually the wind and weather will wear down the walls until they start to crumble. And then all we have to do is wait for a big enough hole to form and we can just walk out! It's the perfect plan!" Pinkie Pie rambled but her Cutie Mark made her feel gloomy again. "I guess."
"We don't actually have to escape. They'll just let us out when they think we've accepted their philosophy."
"But they're never gonna believe we switched over in just one night." AJ replied.
"There's one of us they might believe." Twilight turned to Fluttershy. They all looked at Fluttershy, smiling.
"Oh! Me?"
"You've been saying how great this place is ever since we got here!" said Rainbow Dash.
"That's because everypony is so nice and... their village is so pretty and..and...Oh you're right. They probably would believe me. I hate to lie to them. They've been so welcoming and friendly. Aside from locking us in here, controlling our Pokemon, teaming up with Adagio and trying to brainwash us into abandoning the things that make us special. Okay. I'll do it."
"WOOHOO!" Pinkie jumped up but quickly deflated back down. "I mean.. cool."
"But. What do I do once I'm out? You've got to find a way to get our Cutie Marks back."
A day had passed. Dragonite was still asleep from the Hypnosis and Gengar was avoiding Hatterene who was watching out for Gengar at every side. Pikachu was still cramped in the vault and Riolu and Farfetch'd were also asleep. As for Ash, his mind hadn't been fully taken over. He was fighting against the Hypnosis. Starlight kept a close eye on him, making sure he doesn't fully break out of it. Starlight then opened up the door to where the Mane 6 were.
"I trust you all had a pleasant night? This way please. There are some friends who would like to see you." Starlight led them outside as all the ponies gathered around. "Gather around friends! Gather around! We've come to ask if any of you are ready to join us! There are so many friends to be made once you realise you don't need your Cutie Marks. Or the talents that come with them."
The Mane 6 then shifted their eyes, seeing Ash alongside Hatterene. They saw him holding his head, trying not to be controlled by Hypnosis. They wanted to do something but they weren't exactly at the best state right now. So for the meantime, they had to go with Twilight's plan.
"We have a welcome ceremony for new friends." Double Diamond said. "The whole village joins together to build you your own cards."
"Not interested!" Rainbow Dash cut in. "You may have them now but we're going to get our Cutie Marks back!"
"Ya'll don't understand do ya? You can't force nopony to be friends. It don't work like that." Applejack shook her head.
"Please! Join us!"
"We love new friends!"
"It's alright, everypony. This is a perfectly normal part of the equalization process. For those who haven't...quite seen the light yet. We'll try again tommorow. Once you've had a bit more time to consider our philosophy."
Ash was slowly pushing back the Hypnosis. But that wasn't all. Dragonite was starting to wake up. Along with Riolu and Farfetch'd. Hypnosis can only last so long in terms of sleeping. And Ash has had his mind taken over so many times, he's used to it by now.
"Y-You.." Ash stuttered as everypony turned to him.
"How is he breaking free of the Hypnosis?" Starlight thought.
Gengar could hear Ash's voice, popping out of the shadows as it saw its trainer.
Hatterene silently kept on using Hypnosis on Ash, making sure that he doesn't spout anything that will ruin it all. Fluttershy saw how much Ash was struggling so she had to do something. "I'd like to join!"
"Fluttershy? How could you?" Twilight played off a fake betryal voice.
"If giving up my Cutie Mark means I get to stay in this lovely village with these lovely ponies, then I'll do it."
Starlight led Twilight and the rest back inside, closing the door shut. "We have a new friend everypony!" They all gathered around Fluttershy, chatting about how much they're glad she's apart of their town now.
Gengar wanted to to help so badly. But Hatterene just terrified it that much. Gengar felt bad about itself for being so weak to defend Ash. Even if it had the strength to do so.
This is the part where their luck started to turn around. Because now that Dragonite's awake. It is not a happy dragon. The entire town felt a rumble in the ground. They were losing their balance along with Hatterene's focus.
"W-What's going on?" Starlight said. Out of the building that Dragonite was in came the Dragon Pokemon. It flew up into the air, letting out a might roar. "A DRAGON?!"
Dragonite let them all have it as it unleashed a Hyper Beam down on the ground, causing a powerful shockwave and explosion to occur, sending them all flying, including Hatterene. Ash was finally free of the Hypnosis as he took a deep breath. Not only was he free but the Pokemon who were controlled as well.
"E-Eevee?"
"Audino?"
Dragonite landed on the ground, furious. Starlight looked up to see a 7'03 ft tall Dragon stare down at her. Hattere got in the way to protect her trainer but was smacked away by its claw.
"N-Now now. Let's not do anything hasty here." Starlight nervously said. But Dragonite wasn't having any of it. It charged up a Hyper Beam, ready to blast her into oblivion. Fluttershy thankfully got in the way.
"Wait!"
"Dra?"
"Dragonite wait! You don't have to blast her." Dragonite stopped its charging as Starlight was quaking.
"Phew. Thank you so much Fluttershy. You're a life saver."
"Can't say the same for you." Ash said to her as they all turned to Ash. He wasn't happy either. "You trap my friends and other humans...take their Pokemon away from them... encase my buddy Pikachu, take away everyone's talents... and make everyone follow a philosophy that only leads to nothing." Ash stood up, turning his hat. Fluttershy had never seen Ash this serious.
Unlie Twilight and her friends, Ash is less forgiving. Anyone who threatens to harm those that he cares for and ruin their future is an instant enemy to him.
"I'm getting my buddy back!" Ash exclaimed. Gengar mustered up the courage now that Ash was up and ready, appearing behind his trainer.
Fluttershy backed away, not wanting to involve herself in this current situation. Twilight and her friends looked outside, seeing Ash in a serious state.
"Gengar! Shadow Ball! Dragonite! Dragon Claw!" Ash pointed at the building that Twilight and her friends were trapped in as the two Pokemon destroyined the front section, granting them their freedom. All the other Pokemon went beside Ash. He wasn't their original trainers but he was what they got for now. As for their original trainers, Goh and the other humans were watching from the cliff, seeing what was going down there.
Twilight and the others ran out of the house, standing beside Ash.
"You've ruined everything, Ash Ketchum! Everything was going so well! Everything so peaceful!" Starlight bellowed.
"You call this peace?!" Ash raised his voice at her. "The only way you can get peace is if everyone works together to make it happen. Having everyone be the exact same with nothing to stand out doesn't achieve peace at all! If anything, it's just setting itself up for an uneventful future with no progress! The only peace they'll ever get is in the next world!"
"Dragonite!"
"You take what makes someone special, you take away their future. None of these guys have a future anymore. That's why we're getting their marks back."
"No you won't! They're all happy without them! Hatterene! Psycho Cut!"
"Gengar! Shadow Ball!" Gengar countered the Psycho Cut with a Shadow Ball, cancelling it out. The other Pokemon decided to do something. A Panpour had shot a Water Gun at Starlight, making her wet. This was a good move to use by Panpour, as it revealed something shocking. The water had dried up the Equal Cutie Mark on Starlight, revealing her actual mark.
Everypony gasped. They couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"W-What are you looking at?" Starlight covered her mark with her tail. "They're the problem! Not me!"
"H-How.. could you?" Party Favor was shocked.
"You said Cutie Marks were evil." Double Diamond said. "You said special talents lead to pain and heartache."
"T-They do! Don't you see? Look at them!"
"Then why? Why did you take ours and not give up your own?" Sugar Belle asked.
"I...I had to you fools!" Starlight finally snapped as she was sweating. "How could I collect your Cutie Marks without my magic?!"
"B-But the staff has all the magic we need." The pegasus said.
"The staff is a piece of wood I found in the desert! It's my magic that makes all of this possible. You'd all still be living your miserable lives thinking you're better than everypony else. If it weren't for MY magical abilities! I brought you friendship. I brought you equality. I created Harmony!"
"You lied to us!" Double Diamond yelled.
"So what? Everything else I said is true. The only way to be happy is if we're all equal."
"Except for you." Party Favor said as Starlight scowled at him.
"Welp. That settles that." Ash hopped on Dragonite's back. "Let's go and get those marks back. See ya!"
"Huh?! WAIT!" Starlight called, but Dragonite had already flown off with Ash. "Hatterene stop them!" Hatterene attempted to use Psychic to grab Dragonite.
"Eve! Swift!" Twilight commanded her Eevee to distract Hatterene, pelting stars at Hatterene's face.
"Come on! Let's go get our Cutie Marks back!" Double Diamond said as they all ran off towards the cave. Starlight couldn't stop them because the Pokemon wouldn't let her get the chance.
Goh and the other humans had a sigh of relief as they ran back to their Pokemon.
"Raboot!" Goh called out, hugging his Pokemon with all his love. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"R-Raboot.." Raboot sighed, but it was also happy to see its trainer back too.
"My sweet little Panpour!"
"How I've missed you so much Sudowoodo!"
Dragonite and the ponies had reached the cave as Ash hopped off his Pokemon. He saw his best pal struggling to break free. He's been at this for a day now. "Don't worry Pikachu! Dragonite use Dragon Claw!" Dragonite flew up at the vault, breaking it in one single attack. All the Cutie Marks flew out like jets, zipping around all over the place. They raced back to their rightful owners, eliminating the Equal Cutie Mark. Doing so transformed their bodies into much more vibrant colors and restoring their original looks. Mane and everything. Ash had caught Pikachu, hugging him. "Welcome back buddy!"
"Pika-Pi!"
Rarity looked up, seeing all the Cutie Marks fly about in the skies. "Even without my Cutie Mark. I can tell this is beautiful."
Starlight looked outside, seeing this happen as she stomped her hoof. "They think they can come to MY village and disrupt MY life?!" Starlight walked over to the Mane 6's Cutie Marks. She kept them in her room considering how special they were. "Let's see how they like spending the rest of their lives without their precious Cutie Marks." She opened up a hatch that was underneath her bed, leading downstairs to somewhere. Starlight returned Hatterene back to her Pokeball as she ran towards the staircase.
Applejack tried breaking the door to Starlight's home, but it was no use.
"Stand back everypony!" The now refreshed pegasus by the name of Night Glider said, breaking through the door easily.
They ran in with the Mane 6, looking around for Starlight. That's when Fluttershy noticed an open underground passage.
"Over there everypony!"
They went towards the passage as it had led them to a cave and eventually outside. Rainbow Dash flew up, spotting Starlight running in the distance with their Cutie Marks. "Look! And she has our Cutie Marks!" Rainbow Dash took out one of her Pokeballs she retrieved as she sent out Braviary. "Braviary! Get our marks back!"
"Braviary!" Braviary instantly dashed forward, catching up to Starlight easily. Starlight looked up, gasping as she saw the Valiant Pokemon charging towards her. "Stop it with Psychic!" Starlight tossed her Pokeball up, sending out Hatterene who used Psychic to halt Braviary.
The others couldn't reach Starlight until Party Favor had an idea. Through bizarre means, he grabbed a balloon out of his Cutie Mark, blowing on it as it expanded. He formed them into binoculars as he looked in the distance. "She's headed for the pass! If she makes it into those mountains, we'll never find her!"
Pinkie grabbed the ballon binoculars, staring through them. "These are amazing."
"Drop my Braviary!" Rainbow Dash flew over. Hatterene launched Braviary into Rainbow Dash with Psychic as she was returned to her Pokeball. The ponies chased after her, but the Mane 6 were moving much slower. "Oh! Come on!" Rainbow Dash hopped on Braviary's back to get some speed. "Much better."
Night Glider and the others 3 had caught up to Starlight who was booking it. "Are you so willing to give up everything because of these... STRANGERS?!" Starlight said as she blasted a mountain, dropping some snow on Night Glider and stopping her movements.
"We gave up everything for you! Because we thought you were our friend!" Sugar Belle replied.
"I can't believe we have to count on these other ponies to save our Cutie Marks!" Rainbow Dash groaned.
"If we hadn't come here to help them, they'd still be living under he rules. Now it's their turn to help us!" Twilight exclaimed.
"And I know they can do it!" said Fluttershy.
"My newest recipe! Snow pie!" Sugar Belle used her magic to make a snow pie, tossing it at Starlight as it broke the wagon she was carrying, making the Cutie Marks inside the jars fall down. Starlight gasped as she just barely caught them with their magic before they hit the ground by just 2 feet.
Starlight then destroyed the mountain bridge, cutting her off from the rest. Party Favor had quickly used his balloons to build a balloon bridge for all of them to cross. They continued moving as Double Diamond came across his old skis. "Whoa! These are my old skis! This is where I first met Starlight."
"Maybe you can reminisce another time. She's almost to the caves!" Night Glider said.
"No she's not!" Ash said as he was flying with Dragonite with Goh on the dragon's back as well, chasing after Starlight along with Braviary and Rainbow Dash catching up. Ash had retrieved his Riolu and Farfetch'd, sending them and Gengar back into their Pokeballs. Night Glider picked up Double Diamond, dropping him on the steep snow hill as he started to ski. Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder, charging up lightning as he shot a bolt towards Starlight's direction. Starlight turned around, thinking she was going to get hit by the Thunderbolt but instead they ended up hitting the jars instead, breaking them.
"NO!" Starlight yelled. The 6 Cutie Marks were free as they dashed back to their rightful owners. And just like that, once they connected to their owners, their colors were returning to them. They could feel their true selves finally come back.
"Yee-haw! Finally I can buck like a five bit snake herder in an Appleloosa ranch house again!" Applejack uttered, bucking her hooves about.
"And you got your countryisms back to." Fluttershy said.
Starlight stomped her hooves on the ground in frustration as they had all finally caught up to her. "You.. YOU! Curse you! Adagio was right about you all! You're nothing but a nuisance Ash Ketchum! Twilight Sparkle!" Starlight tossed her Pokeball up, bringing out Hatterene one more time. "Hatterene! Psycho Cut!" Hatterene was about to attack as well as Starlight who charged up her beam.
"Raboot! Ember!" Goh commanded Raboot as the Rabbit Pokemon kicked up a piece of rock, lightning it on fire as it struck the flaming rock at Hatterene at high speeds, hitting the Silent Pokemon so hard that it sent her crashing into a wall. Starlight fired a beam forward, but Twilight got in the way, using an advanced magic shield to protect them.
"W-Wha? I studied that spell for years! How could you-"
"I studied that spell too. But what I didn't know then was that studying could only take me so far." Twilight stepped forward. "Each of my friends has taught me something different about myself. It was their unique gifts and passions and personalities that helped bring out the magic inside of me. I never would've learned that I represent the Element of Magic without these five. And i certainly wouldn't be here to stop you know."
"Spare me your sentimental nonsense! I gave these ponies REAL friendships they NEVER could've had otherwise!"
"How do you know that? You never even gave us a chance!" said Double Diamond.
Starlight had enough as she returned Hatterene, teleporting away from here with all of her magic.
"She's getting away!" Rainbow Dash tried to follow her.
"We'll never find her in there!" Double Diamond stopped her.
"We just have to hope that when she's had a chance to think it over she realizes that you all have taught her something." said Twilight.
"It's you who have taught us something." Party Favor spoke. "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 now...now it seems that it was in front of us all along. It's us." The 4 of them all went in for a group hug.
"Does that mean you'll stay in the village?" Twilight asked.
"It's our home. I'm not going anywhere." Night Glider replied.
"That settles that. I still didn't get my drink though. And I'm hungry now too." Ash held his stomach.
"Pika..." Pikachu felt hungry too.
"Don't worry. I can bake you all something other than terrible muffins this time." said Sugar Belle.
"You will? Yes!"
"Pikachu!"
The town was now much more lively. It even had a makeover with some decorations here and there. Sugar Belle had baked some delectable food to choose from.
"Now THOSE are real smiles." Pinkie Pie giggled.
"I can't believe what just happened today." Goh held his head.
"Mhm. Although it's strange how Gengar took so long to do something." Ash said as Gengar came out of his Pokeball.
"Gen. Gengar!"
"Gengar said that Hatterene terrified him. That's why." Fluttershy translated.
"But you have the type advantage don't you?" Dash asked.
"Gen..."
"Gengar said, it was the eyes and the claw that spooked him."
Hearing that made everyone laugh.
"Looks like you were right Twilight. The map did have a reason for sending us here." Applejack commented. "We brought real friendship to these here ponies. Guess that's why you're the Princess of Friendship."
"But the map didn't send me. It sent us. You're apart of me. All of you. And there's no doubt you're all apart of my mission to spread friendship too." They all went to hug Twilight.
Ash took a deep breath as he was ready to head home. And his stomach was full and he was hydrated.
Adagio looked over from the distance, upset at what she saw. "You kidding me!? How do they keep winning?!" She stomped her hooves. "I swear I'll find a way to ruin their lives.. one day..."
Chapter 88 End!