//------------------------------// // The Guilt // Story: The Unequal // by Invinsible //------------------------------// Starlight Glimmer sighed as she and Princess Twilight took their seats in the throne room. “This is a disaster.” “Gee, what was your first clue?” Applejack grumbled as she and her friends took their seats as well. Pinkie Pie looked over at Fluttershy. “You okay?” “Mm hmm,” Fluttershy mumbled as she stared down at the object in her hooves that she was playing with. “How could we let this happen? An innocent rat killed and nailed to our front door. What kind of pony could do this?!” Starlight growled. Fluttershy meekly raised her hoof. “Um…if I could say something…” “And Fluttershy! You were right there when it happened! I can only imagine how traumatized you must feel,” Starlight said, gazing at Fluttershy with pity. Fluttershy gave them a small smile. “Oh, I’m feeling better now actually.” “What?!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Fluttershy, I thought you loved animals!” “I do! But you see-” “Somepony killed a rat and hung it up right outside your window! How are you not creeped out by that?” Rainbow cried. “But it wasn’t a pony who killed that rat,” Fluttershy said. “It wasn’t? Fluttershy darling, who else could it have been?” Rarity asked. “Well, I know Starlight wanted us all to hurry over here to discuss what happened but she let me stay behind so I could get a hold of myself before we started,” Fluttershy said as she smiled at Starlight. “That’s when the filly suggested that there might be more going on here. So with a little difficulty, we took that poor rat off the wall and examined the body. We had a few ponies who used to work at the hospital come and look too.” With that said, she took the object she had been toying with and placed it on the table. “Does this look familiar to anyone? Applejack? Twilight?” Rarity raised an eyebrow before she shuddered in revulsion. “Oh dear. Did you get that tree bark from the rat?” “Yes. But it’s not just tree bark.” Fluttershy stared at Twilight and Applejack, waiting for one of them to answer. “Hey…now that ya mention it…this looks like a timberwolf fang,” Applejack said as she examined it. “Here, let me see it,” Twilight asked. Applejack passed the fang over to her and the princess rolled it around on the table, examining it from every angle. “You’re right! But then…does that mean…” Fluttershy nodded. “It means that a pony didn’t kill that rat. It was just a hungry predator looking for food.” When Starlight raised an eyebrow at her, the pegasus elaborated. “I might not have a talent for working with animals but I still have lots of experience. That sweet little filly said so herself. I’ve had a few carnivorous animals that needed to eat worms or fish before. That’s why I’m not upset anymore. A wolf eating a rat is just nature at work,” she said with a proud smile. “There’s nothing natural about timberwolves,” Starlight growled. “Except…the rat wasn’t completely eaten and its body was still nailed to a door,” Twilight said. “Even if a timberwolf killed the rat, it couldn’t have done everything else.” Fluttershy’s smile faded. “Oh…I guess you’re right.” “Which brings us back to the original question. Who could have done this?” Starlight grumbled. “The rat was bad enough, but the message only added to the problem.” “What message? The word ‘smile’? What’s wrong with that?” Rainbow asked. “Everything. Happiness and equality have always been the heart of our great community. Everypony is supposed to be filled with cheer at all times,” Starlight said. “And with one single word, this mysterious monster has cast doubt over everypony in Ponyville. Before this morning, the only pony in our town who couldn’t smile was Pinkie, and we were working on fixing that little problem. Now, absolutely nopony is happy.” “Well yeah. A creepy dead rat isn’t exactly something you’d be smiling about,” Rainbow said. Starlight frowned. “Oh, I think I know we all know one pony who’s smiling about this. She’s been nothing but trouble she’s shown up in our village, she’s openly defied our dream of equality, she won’t tell us who she is, and she was right there when it happened. Obviously, the filly is behind all this.” The other ponies fidgeted uncomfortably as they saw the logic in that argument. All except for one. “How dare you…how dare you!” Fluttershy cried as she flew right into Starlight’s face and growled. Everyone in the room stared at her in shock. “F-Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked. “She’s just a little kid! How could you even think she’d be capable of such a thing?!” Fluttershy cried. “Now hold on sugarcube,” Applejack said, recovering her wits a little faster than everyone else. “Ya gotta admit that there’s something strange about that filly.” “Aw, are you girls gossiping about me again? I’m flattered.” The ponies in the room spun around to face the throne room’s entrance just as the doors swung open. There stood the filly, with wide eyes and a huge grin. “Hi girls!” Pinkie’s body’s twitched as her eyes widened. She glanced at her flank and then at the filly before she edged backwards into her throne. “You?” Starlight asked. “How long have you been out there? Were you listening to us?” The filly ignored Starlight’s question, strolling into the throne room with a bounce in her step. “Sorry you’re late.” Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Don’t you mean ‘sorry I’m late’?” The filly giggled. “Darling, the only way I’m ever late is fashionably.” She shook her head and said, “No, no, I’m referring to this little meeting you’re having. Not exactly what I’d call a prompt response to the situation.” “Huh?” Rainbow asked. “Why, your response to that rat of course. Dreadful stuff, that is,” the filly said with a giggle. Starlight scowled at her. “Do you think this is funny?” The filly grinned. “Oh, try not to take it too seriously honey cakes. I think just about everything is funny! Of course, there’s nothing more hilarious than watching somebody’s panicked reaction. And boy howdy, is there panic a plenty!” she giggled. “You should see it out there. Ponies screaming everywhere you look! What a riot!” “Of course they’re screaming! There’s a dead animal nailed to a door out there!” Rainbow cried. “Well not anymore,” the filly said, her grin shrinking into a small smile. “After Fluttershy and those nice doctors were done examining the rat and the tree wolf fangs, I took the little guy off their hooves and put him into a tiny little coffin. I was looking for our resident animal expert so that we could perhaps put together a little goodbye party for him.” “R-really?” Fluttershy asked, a very sad but hopeful smile on her face. The filly smiled gently at her. “Of course my dear. I may find almost everything funny but death isn’t one of those. The poor guy deserves a respectable farewell.” Rainbow threw her hooves up in disgust. “Oh come on Fluttershy! Don’t tell me you believe her! This filly has been a huge troublemaker ever since she got her!” The filly grinned widely. “Funny! I could say the same thing about Scootaloo!” Rainbow’s jaws dropped. “W-what?” “And Apple Bloom! And Sweetie Belle, let’s not forget her friends now!” the filly said cheerfully as Applejack and Rarity stared at her in shock. The filly began to slowly circle the table. “Fluttershy mentioned some of the mischief your former Cutie Mark Crusaders regularly get into. Putting together tree houses, parade floats, chemical concoctions and elaborate traps…those three sound like my kind of girls!” The filly smiled. “I’m really looking forward to being friends with them.” Starlight glared at her. “If you come anywhere near them-” The filly simply grinned back at her. “What’s with the hostility? I though you wanted everyone to be friends with everyone. That’s the whole point of this equality thing, isn’t it? But this isn’t about me. No, no, we have to think about our families here.” The filly looked at Rarity, then Applejack, then Rainbow. “Ya know, right now those three girls are terrified. They have every right to be. A dangerous, bloodthirsty monster is on the move and where are their big sisters? The people they look up to the most? They’re gathered around a table, sitting on their flanks.” The other ponies in the room were staring at the filly in horror. “W-wait…” Rainbow stuttered. “Y-you can’t…” The filly spun around and grabbed Rainbow’s chest fur, pulling her close. For the first time since Starlight had met her, the filly wasn’t smiling at all. The filly glared at Rainbow and whispered, “Ya wanna know what I really hate? It’s big sisters who don’t look after their little siblings.” The filly smiled again and let go of Rainbow. She strolled towards the doors and held them open. “Now this is just a friendly suggestion, but I really think you should go look for your sisters now. I know I wouldn’t want to see them nailed to somebody’s door.” Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack exchanged glances before they all got up and bolted out of the room. Starlight stared at the retreating ponies in shock. “W-what?” The filly smiled and placed a hoof over her chest. “Aw…the bonds between siblings. It warms the bottom of my heart.” She slammed the doors shut and walked back towards the thrones. “Now that the most important issue is settled, perhaps now is a good time to address the elephant in the room.” The filly turned around and addressed Starlight. “So Starry, you think I had something to do with all this? Well why don’t we get a second opinion?” she said with a smile aimed at Twilight. “If you’re going to pin the blame on little girls, why not start with the ones you know best?” Princess Twilight swallowed a lump in her throat before she said, “It wasn’t her Starlight.” “What?!” Starlight exclaimed. “Twilight…” “I’m sorry Starlight, but it’s just not possible. First of all, no filly would ever be so cruel to do this. Second of all, no filly could ever be capable of doing this. She would have to sneak past Fluttershy, unlock the door, sneak past the two guards, sneak into the Everfree forest, find a timberwolf eating a rat, steal the rat from the timberwolf, avoiding being eaten by said timberwolf, get back to Ponyville, nail the rat and message to the door without anyone noticing, and finally sneaking back into the Equalization House.” Twilight finished her lengthy explanation and sucked in a deep breath. “And a little filly like her would be too tired to stay up that late. She spent the entire day talking to me,” Fluttershy added. Even Pinkie wasn’t glaring suspiciously at the filly anymore. “Even at their best, the Crusaders couldn’t do that. Nopony ever could.” The filly grinned. “Exactly. No pony ever could.” Looking at Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie, the filly, and finally at the floor, Starlight let out a sigh. “You’re right. How could a little girl ever do all that? It’s completely insane.” She looked up at the filly and said, “I’m sorry for accusing you of a crime you didn’t commit.” The filly smiled thoughtfully. “Apology…taken into consideration.” Before anyone could ask what she meant by that, the filly continued. “Now that we’ve got that unpleasantness settled, I’ve got an idea I’d like to propose. Something that might distract everyone from the rat and resolve the little problem that Starry and I have.” The filly grinned and strolled out of the throne room. “Come along now. We’ll want everyone to hear this.” Half an hour later, the entire population of Ponyville was gathered outside Princess Twilight’s castle. Starlight noticed that the former Cutie Mark Crusaders were all hugging their big sisters tightly. The filly smiled at them as she pushed a box that was as big as she was up to the front of the castle. “I was hoping for a stage but I’ve improvised before,” she giggled. She climbed up on top of the box, turned around, and addressed the crowd. “Hello boys and girls!” the filly said, waving cheerfully at everyone. “How’s everyone feeling today?” “Horrified!” Rose, Daisy, and Lily Valley cried. The filly grinned at the flower trio. “Wonderful! Audience participation. A little risky, but it usually spices things up even more. But not to worry everyone, I’ve got something to put the smiles back on your faces! Anyone know any good jokes?” The crowd stared at her in confusion. Starlight narrowed her eyes and muttered, “What is she up to?” “I’ll start. Two ponies walk into a bar. Ya know, you’d think the second pony would’ve been smart enough to duck!” The filly burst into giggles but quieted down when she noticed nobody was laughing with her. “Really? Wow, that one usually gets at least one chuckle. Let’s try something else. Ooh, I got one! Did you ever hear about the parasprite who ate a cupcake? He was beside himself.” The filly grinned as a few ponies smiled at that one. “Ooh! I’ve got a few nibbles! Promising…but still not satisfactory. Since we talked about audience participation…” the filly’s eyes scanned over the crowd before she focused on Pinkie. “You there! The lovely madam in the pink coat! You look like you appreciate a good laugh!” Pinkie’s eyes widened. “Me? Oh no, I can’t tell a joke…at least not anymore.” “Oh come now dearie, you’re being too hard on yourself. How about a knock-knock joke. Anyone can do those! It’ll make you happy!” the filly promised. She winked at Starlight and said, “And we all know how important happiness is to your cult leader.” Starlight’s eyes narrowed. “What did you just say?” The filly grinned. “I said we all know how important happiness is to your cute leader.” Starlight scowled in disgust, but the other ponies were too focused on Pinkie to notice. “Okay then…knock-knock.” “Come on in!” the filly giggled and waved her hoof as if she was opening a door. A few ponies giggled and chuckled in the audience with her. “Now there, ya see! I knew you had it in ya! Give yourselves a round of applause everyone! Way to stay positive!” A few ponies clapped and Starlight managed a smile as she saw cheer returning to them. “Well then, thank you for putting a smile back on Ponyville’s face miss…I’m sorry, are you planning to tell us your name anytime soon?” The filly giggled. “You wouldn’t believe me if I did.” Starlight blinked in confusion. “What does that mean?” “Oh, nothing you need concern yourself with dearie. Now then, time to reveal…the main attraction!” the filly turned around and showed off her flank to everyone. “Ladies and gents, I present to you my butt! I know, I know, you’re all mesmerized by it.” A few of the younger colts and fillies chuckled at that, but Starlight rolled her eyes. “Could you please be serious and tell us why you called us here?” The filly turned around and flashed a smile at her. “You want me to be serious?” “Yes please.” The filly’s eyes and smile widened. “Trust me darling, no you don’t. But I suppose I’m getting bored with beating around the bush without actually hitting anything. So how’s this…clearly I’m not longer safe inside your little prison house and it’s not like too much progress was being made there anyway. So crazy thought! You let me out and about to explore my special talent!” Starlight frowned. “Why would we do that? Special talents only lead to…” “Yes, yes, your speech has reached my ears enough times Starry. But clearly it hasn’t reached the one part of me you care about…that being my rear. But that’s where my crazy thought comes in! I get myself a special talent sticker and maybe then the staff’s magic can remove it!” Apple Bloom lifted her head out of the hug Applejack had been giving her. “That’s…not a bad idea.” “That won’t be necessary. The Staff of Sameness works on all ponies, including blank flanks,” Starlight stated firmly. “It still won’t work on me,” the filly pointed out. “So I’d say it’s worth a shot. Although…now that you mention it…” the filly grinned at Starlight. “If the Staff of Sameness wants every pony to be the same…why not just make every pony blank flanks?” Several ponies stared at her in confusion. “Huh?” Scootaloo asked. “You were all born as blank flanks, right? Why not just return to the way nature intended you to be?” the filly asked with a huge smile. “That is, if you want everyone to be equal Starry.” Starlight tried to glare at the filly, but for some reason was finding it difficult to make eye contact with her. “You make it sound as if I have any control over what the Staff of Sameness does.” The filly gave her a wide eyed grin. “Do you?” “…O-of course not.” “You hesitated,” the filly pointed out in a sing-song voice. Before Starlight could respond, the filly leapt off the box and strolled over to Fluttershy. “But never mind that. That’s a conversation for another time. What do you think my Flutter butter? Doesn’t that sound like a great idea on this sunshiny day?” Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she nodded. “I think it’s a great idea. I think she’s right Starlight.” The filly stood up on her back legs and stretched her front legs up to the sky, grinning widely. “Come on Ponyville! You want me to make friends? Then let’s get started!” the filly cheered. Pretty soon, the crowd was cheering with her. Starlight held her hoof up to try and focus their attention on her. “Wait a minute! You can’t make true friends with anyone unless we’re all equal!” “Oh, that’ll come later, Starry,” the filly said. “Ya wanna focus on the future that much? So do I!” She walked down the street, somehow managing to walk several steps like a biped before she settled back down on her four legs. “It’s a beautiful, sunshiny day in Ponyville!” “…And I can’t wait to meet all my new…friends.”