At the front of the classroom, the flag of the village hung. “My fellow villagers,” Starlight Glimmer said, standing under the parallel bars crossing the fabric, “soon we will be ready to show the world our more equal way of life.”
Glory sat at her desk, the emotions stewing in her heart.
A photographer moved throughout the class and snapped pictures, his hooves clumsy and his face crossed with indecision as he tried to figure out which shot would look best. He trudged over to Starlight and peered at the side of her face, then raised his camera and snapped a shot from six inches away.
Starlight laughed weakly, then pulled the camerapony close and whispered, “I told you, make sure the sun isn't in the window behind me, or the picture will be useless. Now get in the back of the room and only take pictures from the direction of the sun.” She pushed him away and smiled warmly at the class again.
The camerapony stumbled to the back of the class and took up his camera again, to continue indecisively shooting pictures.
“When ponies from outside the village come here,” Starlight continued, “we want them to see the very best our more equal way of life has to offer. Equality works, and letting them see how so very smart the next generation of ponies we're raising in our village is, well, the most surefire way to let them know nopony in our town is lagging unequally behind the others. This new equalized testing initiative is designed to do just that. I should know, I thought it up myself.”
She smiled sweetly, and all around Glory the class cheered for her, but Glory just sat there and stared up at Starlight. She has to know, Glory thought. I have to tell her that Miss Shake is right.
Her mother said Starlight was so friendly and approachable. So why was Glory finding it so hard to say what she needed to say?
For starters, she told herself, Starlight was making a speech, and it was rude to interrupt, no matter how much the words burned in Glory's throat and itched to be set free.
“You colts and fillies are our future,” Starlight said, “and the future of our equality is something I very dearly want to share with the rest of Equestria. But only by showing the world how very equal you all are can we do that. I'm putting my trust in you, my littlest friends among equals, to help me spread our message of equality.” Her eyes wandered among the desks, and she met Glory's. “Hello again. Your name is....New Glory, is that right?”
Glory hesitated a moment, and then nodded sharply.
“Are you excited for the test?”
The filly was lost in her thoughts for a moment. “I don't know,” she said, finally and truthfully.
With a concerned cock of the head, Starlight asked, “You're not? What's wrong?”
Now was her chance. Her chance to lay everything on the table, to tell Starlight all the feelings she had inside her, all her doubts and worries and fears, about how her new friend had died because nopony had ever taught her a simple thing like critters need to drink water, just like ponies do.
And still she hesitated.
Starlight was so caring, Glory thought, and all Glory was doing was disappointing her. Letting Starlight think her equality wasn't working. Why was she doing that to a mare who was so amazing? The shame came to Glory, once again.
“Let me tell you a little story,” Starlight said. “When I was your age, my school gave me a test. But this wasn't like your test. This was a magic test. And some unicorns, in the land outside the village, have better magic or access to better spellbooks than others do. All the other foals were up there, showing off their fancy magic they learned in their ivory towers.” Wistfully, she smiled. “And there I was, feeling so ashamed of what I had to offer. I could feel the other foals' eyes on me, talking about me, making fun of me because my magic wasn't as good as theirs. That's the moment I first thought to myself, 'Starlight, this just isn't equal at all.' I passed, but I came to realize I didn't care about their kind of tests anymore. It was a rigged game.” She looked at each one of them in turn. “I wanted no part of what magic school had to offer. The inequality it represented. It created jealousy and misery and resentment, not the kind of true and lasting friendship you all experience in this village. And that, my little ponies, is why I'm here in front of you today. Equalized testing gives you equality other kinds of education does not.” She turned to the side and showed them all her cutie mark. “I learned that the hard way, so you don't have to.”
As Glory gazed in awe at the compassion radiating from the mare's face, she chided herself for being so stupid. Here Starlight was, founding a truly equal society out of the goodness of her heart, all so ponies like Glory would never feel left out. But now Glory was trying to ruin Starlight's utopia with her stupid worries.
Glory quickly got out from behind her desk, ran right up to Starlight Glimmer, and hugged her tight.
“Oh ho ho!” Starlight said, surprised.
She gestured for the photographer to come closer, then turned Glory around and put a forehoof protectively around the filly. Together, as equals, they smiled at the photographer, who fumbled and bumbled a bit before he had the camera set to take a picture.
“I knew you'd see things my way eventually,” Starlight whispered with a kind and caring smile.
“I'm glad I do,” Glory said.
Starlight tousled her mane again. So friendly, Glory thought about that mare with the same equal sign for a cutie mark everypony else had. The same mark New Glory would someday have as well. Starlight Glimmer wasn't some ivory tower unicorn who thought she was better than regular folks. No, she was a mare of the ponies, who kept hope alive. Hope for the future of Equestria.
Glowing with pride in her village, Glory walked back to her desk and took her seat. Starlight smiled at her from the front of the class. Miss Shake, who still looked a bit nervous about not being able to teach if anypony failed, walked among them and gave out testing papers.
Don't worry, Glory thought to her. We'll do our best to help you. Because we're all friends here.
She looked down at the paper in front of her. It was completely equal with all the other papers, just as all the students in the class were equal. Equal, except for the names they scribbled at the top. Glory put her pencil between her teeth and started to fill in the division tables, which she knew so very well by now. When they were done, the testing papers would still be totally equal, as every answer would be correct.
She didn't look out the window once. She did, however, glance up from time to time to see Starlight Glimmer, still at the front of the class, smiling at them. Smiling, because she knew that all of them, each and every one, were equal. And soon they would show the world just how equal they truly were.
Equal in freedom. Equal in learning. Equal in....
“Friendship”
-State Motto of Texas