Starlight Glimmer smirked to herself as she got up out of bed. She walked down the stairs of Princess Twilight’s castle, humming to herself as she made her way to the kitchen. “Good morning Twilight.”
Princess Twilight jumped and put her book down, forcing a smile on her face as she turned to greet Starlight. “M-morning, Starlight. Did you sleep well?”
Starlight beamed. “I slept wonderfully. How about you?”
Princess Twilight weakly shrugged. “Can’t complain. No nightmares. No particularly memorable dreams either, but that’s the sacrifice we have to make for a better Equestria, right?” she chuckled nervously.
“I’m glad you think so. Have you made breakfast for us already?”
Princess Twilight gulped and looked down at the bowls of brown sludge on the kitchen counter. She glanced back at Starlight, shrugged, and carefully picked up the bowls with her hooves. She didn’t use her magic that much these days. “I’ve made something alright.”
Starlight looked down at her meal with delight. “It smells delicious!”
Princess Twilight ate a spoonful of the sludge and shuddered in disgust. “You would be a better judge for that than I would,” she said as she choked down her food.
Starlight’s gaze snapped back to Twilight as she glared suspiciously at the princess. “What would I be better at?”
Princess Twilight gulped and forced the smile back on her face. “Nothing. All of us are better for being best at nothing. We must always be our best by never being our best.”
Starlight smiled again, and patted Twilight’s head as if she were still a child. “That’s right my little princess. I’m no better than you are and you’re no better than me.” She stroked Twilight’s face and gazed at her with pity. “Still having difficulties remembering our philosophy, are we? I can always help you with that…”
Princess Twilight quickly got off her chair and backed away from the unicorn. “N-no Starlight. Y-you don’t need to remind me about our cause.”
“Are you sure? I would hate for you to lose all the friends you’ve made.”
Princess Twilight’s face darkened for a moment but she quickly forced her smile back on. “Neither would I. Friendship is very important after all and friendship can…only be made…through equality.”
“Well…let me know if your mind needs healing.” Starlight turned back to her breakfast and finished eating. When she was done, she tapped her hoof patiently. “Um, Twilight? Aren’t we forgetting something?”
“N-no Starlight. I have all the reports and checklists you asked for right here.” Princess Twilight carried several sheets of paper and placed them onto the table beside Starlight’s hoof.
“Perfect. What’s first on the agenda for today…oh, it looks like it’s my turn to begin our national anthem at the schoolhouse! It’ll be nice to see all the fillies’ and colts’ smiling faces.” She slowly drank a glass of muddy brown apple juice, savoring the taste. “We seem to be running out of apple juice. Pick some up today, will you princess?”
Princess Twilight nodded and smiled as Starlight made her way to the castle exit, waving her goodbye. “I will. May your day be just as good as the last one was!”
Starlight waved back before she turned around and left the castle, humming to herself as she walked through the streets of Ponyville. She was thinking about renaming the town, but then again she had only recently become the one true ruler of all of Equestria. Now that the princesses saw the value of equality, they knew not to question her. Starlight had all the time in the world to rename whatever she saw fit to rename.
The sky was very dark that day, the sun hidden behind thick gray clouds. Starlight smiled and waved to everypony she passed. Some ponies, mostly the ones from the first Town waved back with big grins on their faces. Other ponies grimaced a little before they smiled and waved back, although theirs was a halfhearted gesture. She wasn’t bothered by it though. Soon they would all be happy with their new lives, and all their doubts would fade away.
She made it to the schoolhouse and politely knocked on the door. Cheerilee opened the door and smiled nervously at her. “G-good morning Starlight Glimmer. It’s that time of the week again, huh?”
“Good morning to you too Miss Cheerilee. Are all the children here?”
“We’re ready when you are.” Cheerilee walked back inside with Starlight and smiled at the colts and fillies. “Okay children. It’s time to sing our national anthem. …Yay.”
The colts and fillies in the classroom responded with mixed enthusiasm. Starlight pretended not to notice that and shouted cheerfully. “Heads high, ponies! Let’s wake up and greet a new day! Come on, let’s see those big, happy smiles!” Starlight began to sing with Miss Cheerilee and the class following her lead:
“Life is so grand in Equestria
We’re always filled with cheer!
We never have to look around
To know that we’re all here.
In Our Town, in Our Town
We don’t have to wait
To find out that our destiny
Is just to emulate.”
As the ponies kept singing, the windows slowly opened. A gentle wind was blowing through Ponyville, brushing up against the town, listening to what the ponies in it had to say.
“Life is a smile in Equestria
Our cutie mark’s the same
Because we do not separate
Ourselves by more than name.”
Scootaloo stared down at her desk; a smile forced on her face as she sang along and tried her best to ignore the tears in her eyes.
“In Our Town, in Our Town
We dare not compete
Winning only breeds the worst
Ego-filled conceit.”
As they kept singing, Starlight noticed that one colt’s hair was not done up in a Equal-approved manner. She walked over to the colt and gently trimmed his mane as they kept singing, snipping away those messy, unwanted locks.
“Life is a joy in Equestria
We’re all equal here
No one is superior
And no one shakes in fear.”
Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara glanced at each other as everyone in the class kept singing the same song.
“In Our Town, in Our Town
We work as a team
You can’t have a nightmare
If you never dream.”
However, just as Starlight was about to begin the next verse, one of the light bulbs in the classroom exploded. Because the sun wasn’t shining that day, one corner of the classroom was enveloped in darkness. The sudden explosion made the gathered ponies jump in fright, their song put on pause as they all turned to face the loud noise.
“W-what happened?” Sweetie Belle asked nervously.
Cheerilee and Starlight went over to examine the damage. Cheerilee looked up and smiled reassuringly at her class. “Nothing to worry about everypony. Just an old light bulb that couldn’t go on anymore. I’ll get a new one on the weekend.” She glanced at Starlight and added, “Um, if our budget will allow it. I-is that okay with you Miss Glimmer.”
“It’s no problem Miss Cheerilee. I’ll be happy to pay for the broken light. These children need to see in order to learn and a proper education is the most important gift we can offer Equestria, besides equality of course.”
She was about to turn back to the colts and fillies when something flashed in the corner of her eye. Starlight looked back down at the floor and noticed a shiny pebble sitting in the corner of the room. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she looked at the pebble, then at the broken glass. Her gaze drifted over to the one window that had been open when she arrived in the classroom. If somepony had really good aim…
She shook her head and faced her audience again. “After all, children are our future. Now, let’s see those happy smiles one more time everypony!”
The colts and fillies began to sing again. But as Starlight lead them in song, she couldn’t help but wonder why she felt a small shiver up her spine.
Starlight Glimmer walked back through the streets of Ponyville. Despite that small accident previously that morning, she was still in a good mood. “Morning in Ponyville glimmers. Morning in Ponyville shines! And I know for absolute certain, that everything is finally m-”
“Starlight Glimmer! We found somepony! You need to come, it’s an emergency!”
Starlight frowned in confusion and concern as her loyal friend Double Diamond ran up to her. “An emergency? Double Diamond, what could possibly be wrong?”
“There’s a filly who doesn’t have the same cutie mark that we do!” the stallion cried.
Starlight’s eyes narrowed. “Oh dear. That is troublesome. Lead me to her.”
In no time at all, Double Diamond had brought Starlight to the young filly in the middle of the town square.
Two stallions were holding the filly, though she didn’t seem bothered by it. The filly was an earth pony with a bright white coat and a candy pink mane and tail. As Starlight approached the filly, she felt a shiver run down her spine again. The filly’s pink eyes were staring at her, and a soft smile was spread across her face. Starlight had seen the same look on just about everypony at least once. But on this filly, the smile didn’t quite look right.
She shook off the strange feeling and smiled at the filly. “Welcome! We’re so pleased to have you here!”
The filly smiled and continued to stare back at Starlight. The other ponies waited patiently for the filly to say something. But she remained silent.
Starlight coughed and said, “My name is Starlight Glimmer.”
The filly smiled and said, “I know.” There was something odd about the filly’s voice. She sounded more like a full-grown mare than a filly. Although, that wasn’t entirely true. There was a small hint of childishness in her voice, sort of like Pinkie Pie. There was something else too, but Starlight couldn’t quite put her hoof on it.
“What’s your name?” Starlight asked.
The filly smiled thoughtfully before she said, “Guess.”
Starlight smirked. “Now’s not the time for games my little pony. Tell me your name please.”
“Not the time for games? Oh, I’d have to disagree with you Miss Glimmer. There’s always time for games,” the filly giggled.
Starlight frowned before she turned to Double Diamond. “Since you’re not being cooperative, I’ll just have to ask somepony else. What’s her name?”
The equalized ponies in the town square shuffled their hooves nervously. “We…don’t know,” Double Diamond admitted.
“What? That can’t be. Somepony must know who this is!” But nobody answered her. Starlight huffed in frustration and asked, “Are her parents around?”
“Sorry Miss Glimmer. We don’t know who they are either,” Double Diamond said.
“What? Well, where did you find her? Where is she from?”
“I…I don’t know Starlight,” Double Diamond stammered. “She just...we found her at the edge of town.”
Starlight grunted. “Come on, someone must know something about her.”
The filly giggled when nobody answered her. “Oh bother. Good help is just so hard to find these days, isn’t it dearie?”
Starlight frowned at the filly. As she examined the giggling little girl, she noticed that the filly didn’t have a cutie mark. “Oh, a blank flank? My job is already halfway done. Princess Twilight?”
Princess Twilight stepped out from the crowd and handed Starlight her Staff of Sameness. Starlight grabbed the staff in her magic and smirked at the filly. “It doesn’t matter what your name is. You’re one of us now.”
The filly smirked back at her. “Oh, I’m one of something, alright.”
Starlight used her magic to cast her spell through the staff. She grinned as the beam of light enveloped the filly, tugging at her flank.
However, as the seconds passed Starlight’s smile faded. An equal sign was taking a remarkably long time to appear on the filly’s flank. Seconds soon turned into minutes, and the gathered ponies were gasping in disbelief. The filly was still a blank flank. She wasn’t even in any kind of pain as Starlight’s spell continued to wash over her. She sat there…staring at them all.
Starlight gasped and let go of the spell, the staff dropping to the ground as she sunk to the floor. The filly smiled as an exhausted Starlight gasped for breath. “Having trouble, honey cakes?
Starlight glared at the filly and stood back up. “How are you doing that? No pony has ever resisted the Staff of Sameness. No pony!”
The filly tilted her head in thought. “No pony, you say? Interesting,” she giggled.
Double Diamond gulped. “What do you want to do with her, Starlight?”
Starlight shook her head in disgust, before she smiled at the nervous crowd. “Don’t worry everypony. We’ll deal with this troublemaker the same we always do.”
The filly gasped in delight and clapped her hooves. “Are you taking me to the brainwashing shack? Oh goodie! I’ve always wanted to see it up close and personal!”
Starlight frowned at the filly again. “Well, I’m happy to see that you’re enthusiastic.”
The filly smiled at Starlight. “Really? You don’t look very happy. Almost nobody did when I was walking through town.”
Starlight smirked at the filly’s flank. “Well, we’ll fix that soon enough, now won’t we?”
The filly giggled. “Nice to find something we can agree upon.” The filly giggled again as she covered her flank with her tail. “Careful Starry! Where I come from, it’s considered rude to stare at a girl’s butt for too long. You don’t want to give anybody here any ideas, do you?”
“That’s quite enough out of you. If you want to talk so much you should have spoken up before. Now, you’ll just have to wait until tomorrow. That should give you plenty of time to consider our philosophy.”
The filly smiled as the two stallions carried her. “Oh, I’ve already spent quite a bit of time consider your philosophy. But you’re dear for thinking about my needs.”
As Starlight and the two stallions walked through town, the filly kept giggling at everything she saw. “My, my, you have been busy, haven’t you darling? Everybody in Ponyville, Manehatten, and even Canterlot I’ve heard! Speaking of bodies, I notice that there’s a lack of non-pony people around here. I was lead to believe that I might encounter a dragon? A zebra? Some cows? A donkey or two? Where might they be?”
Starlight grunted. “I don’t want to hear any attitude from you, little one.”
“Oh no, you misunderstand me, Starry! I’m congratulating you. For you to spread your interpretation of equality all across Equestria, even to ponies like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna…you must have very unique dreams.”
Starlight smiled proudly. “It is the dream of equality that we all share. One that you’ll be a part of soon too.”
As the two stallions set her down in front of the big door, the filly turned to Starlight. “What? Well that can’t be right, now can it? Nobody has the same dream that you do. You said so yourself, Miss Glimmer.”
Starlight glared at the filly. “What are you babbling about?”
The filly’s smile grew into a very large grin. “You can’t have a nightmare if you never dream.”
Starlight blinked in confusion. She opened her mouth to reply…but she found that she didn’t have a retort for that. She shook her head and closed the door.
Even as she turned away, she could still hear the filly’s voice. “Goodnight Starlight! Sleep tight! Don’t let the…surprise bite!”
As Starlight walked back to her friends, she could hear somebody singing, the wind carrying a strange, otherworldly voice:
“Twinkle, twinkle, little star
I always know where you are
Soon the fool shall be crowned
Like a smear upon the ground
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
Just try and run…you won’t get far.”