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// Chapter 1: Beginnings 
// Story: Foundations of Equality 
// by stupidhand14 
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        The light shown through a dirty window, illuminating the room of a young mare. Being a teenager, not even the sun could wake the unicorn from her deep slumbers on a Saturday. There was only one power that such a creature still needed to fear: Mother.
        “Azure, are you awake yet?” said pony asked as she opened the door. Seeing the messy room, she sighed in irritation.
        “Five more minutes,” said the pony in the makeshift bed. It wasn’t exactly a comfortable bed, but nopony knew the difference in Our Town.
        “For the love of Equality,” the mother muttered under her breath. She approached her daughter and shook her slightly. “Come on, it’s time to wake up.”
        “Okay, okay, I’m up,” came the reply, but the figure refused to get up. Instead, Azure got deeper into her blankets.
        Before any further actions could be done to wake up her daughter, Violet Glow heard somepony knocking on the door.
        “Moonie, you have two minutes to be downstairs before I have your father get a cloud,” her mother said lovingly before exiting the room. Walking down the worn stairs, she adjusted her light green mane to make sure she was presentable. Opening the door, she was surprised to see Mayor Diamond standing there.
        “Good morning, Violet,” he greeted with a smile.
        “Hello,” she responded, a smile growing on her face as well. “Will you come in?” She opened the door further to let him in.
        “Yes, thank you,” he answered while walking in, a bag in hand. “I hope you don’t mind, but I brought some muffins.”
        “That sounds lovely.” Violet took the white bag from his hooves and set them onto a nearby table.
        “Is Azure Moon here?” Double Diamond asked before Violet could speak. “I need to talk to her.”
        “Of course, let me go get her.” Violet went upstairs and opened the door, only to find that the bed was vacant. Looking around the room, her annoyance grew. It appeared that Azure had gone off somewhere. Turning around, she saw Azure trying to sneak into the only room in the house with a window that could open. Walking briskly over to her daughter, Violet grabbed her daughter by the ear and continued the pace down the stairs.
        “Ow, ow, ow, ow!” her daughter whined with each step. After a few seconds they were standing before Double Diamond.
        “Sorry about that,” Violet said, giving a pointed look to her daughter. “Azure has the strangest ideas sometimes.” 
        “That’s quite alright,” Double Diamond assured. Before anypony could speak, Azure’s stomach began to growl. Blushing slightly, she grinned upon smelling the muffins. In a matter of minutes, all the muffins were gone and everypony was gathered around the table.
        “Thank you for that,” Azure said to Double Diamond, a true smile on her face. “It’s not often we get muffins with a bit of extra…. umpf.”
        “Umpf?” Double Diamond inquired, an amused smirk hidden behind his hooves.
        “Yeah, you know, umpf. A little bit of extra something,” she tried to explain, and failed to do so.
        “Oh, of course.” Double Diamond’s smirk turned into a gleeful grin “Anyways, I’m afraid that I am not only here for the pleasure of your company… nor to learn a new word. Violet, I must ask your permission to take Azure Moon with me for a few days.” Violet’s eyes widened slightly.
        “Where are you going?” Violet was already doing the calculations in her head. There were many places they could go within a few days, but nowhere overtly important.
        “I’m afraid I cannot say,” Double Diamond answered dejectedly. “I can tell you, though, that it is for a project Azure will be working on in the coming months. We discussed in before ”
        “Hello?” Azure interrupted the two adults. “Don’t I get a say in any of this?” Her mother could only give her a flat look.
        “Are you saying you don’t want to go with the mayor and work on a secret project that only the two of you will know about?” she asked plainly. Both Violet and Double Diamond could see the gears working in Azure’s head as her indigo eyes changed from contemplation to excitement.
        “Buck, yeah I want to go!” Azure shouted as she rose to her hooves. Immediately, she felt a smack on her head.
        “Azure Moon, we do not use words like that in this household,” her mother reprimanded, her eyes akin to furnace fires.
        “Sorry, mom,” came the weak reply as Azure sat down once more.
        “Anyways,” Violet said, putting the conversation back on track, “when will you be leaving?”
        “We will be leaving at noon,” Double Diamond answered, his head moving to look outside. “I think you have about an hour or two left.” Double Diamond had to think for a second, but decided to press on. “Azure, we discussed this project before Summer began, including the date. Did you forget to tell your mother?”
        Azure’s smile froze in place, her eyes widening slightly. “Y-yes, I forgot to tell her.”
        Her mother gave her a look that said they would talk once she returned, but otherwise did not comment on this mistake.
        After minor pleasantries, Double Diamond left to go and finish up some business. That left Azure Moon to deal with her mother.
        Several minutes and an excess of force later, Azure and Violet were upstairs. Violet was mothering her daughter and tending to the mess of fur she called a mane.
        “Mom, I don’t need to have my mane done up!” Azure complained, though that didn’t even cause her mother a hesitant moment from styling her daughter’s mane.
        “Nonsense, you have to look your best,” Violet commanded as she continued. “This could be something important, and I want you to look your best.”
        “It’s not like he’s going to ask me to marry him,” Azure scoffed. “Honestly, we’ll be walking through the wasteland for a while, all this work is for nothing.”
        “You don’t know that, he might ask you to marry him,” Violet said, a devious twinkle in her eyes.
        “What?!” Azure looked back at her mother, her eyes saying what incredulity her mother was speaking.
        “He hasn’t had a special somepony in a very long time, and isn’t claimed…” She would have continued on, describing all the facts about why he was a great stallion, had Azure not interrupted.
        “Mom, he’s, like, 20 years older than me.” Azure’s face had reddened slightly, her embarrassment going past normal levels.
        “Yes, it may be a stretch, but I want you looking your best regardless,” her mother conceded, finally done teasing her poor daughter.
        After half an hour, Azure was able to escape her mother and actually do something useful with her time. Packing in some water, blankets, a book, and some other supplies, she went downstairs to find her mother with money on the table, counting.
        “Whatcha doin’?” Azure asked as she approached.
        “Just counting some money to buy you some food for the trip,” her mother answered without moving away from the bits in front of her.
        “Mom, really, there’s no need,” Azure tried to assure, but Violet would not be dissuaded.
        “Of course there’s need. I don’t want you getting hungry while you’re away from home.” Picking up a majority of the bits, she put them in a bag. “Here, go out and buy what food you’ll need. Remember, no fresh fruits or perishables.”
        “I know, mom.” Azure left the house, bit bag in hand. Opening it and spending several minutes counting it, she numbered the bits to 52. Not a large sum, but most of the bits her family had saved up the past year. Silently thanking her mom, she walked towards the food area.
        Most of the buildings in Our Town were worse for ware. Many of the stones, once new and powerful, were chipped and weathered. Several homes stood vacant as some ponies moved away. Pushing these painful memories away, Azure returned to her task. Spending 12 bits getting oats and grains, she safely stashed the remaining bits in her bag as a reserve. Looking at the sun, she was able to judge it was just after 11:00.
        While considering what to do with her free time, she overheard some ponies speaking, though Double Diamond’s voice rang out among all of them.
        “Please, can’t you stay for a little while longer?” he asked a couple. The mare looked pregnant and was hanging on to her husband.
        “I’m sorry, but what’s the point?” the stallion asked bluntly. “Our child will be unequal and will never be equal. They won’t know true friendship.” His voice lacked conviction and happiness, replaced by despair and sadness.
        “I know, I know, but please, we are working on a solution for this,” Double Diamond assured, but to no avail.
        “That’s what you’ve been saying for the past ten years, Double. It’s over, there’s no Starlight here to help us.” He paused, considering his next words very carefully. “We’re leaving at the end of the month.” A murmur spread through the crowd. Ponies leaving was rare, though not as rare as it had been when Starlight was the mayor.
        “I will arrange for the goodbye ceremony,” Double Diamond said distantly. He, above all others, felt the pang of failure most acutely. It was his job to keep the town together, and he was losing the battle. 
        “Thank you.” With that, the couple walked away, still clinging onto each other.
        Double Diamond stared after them for several seconds before his shoulders sagged and his eyes closed. Behind him, Forest Embers came.
        “Don’t feel bad, Double, you’re doing the best you can,” she said, bringing Double Diamond into an embrace. After several seconds, Double Diamond opened his eyes again, a new fire in his eyes. Nopony knew where his reserve of strength and determination came from. Even in the toughest conditions, Double Diamond wouldn’t be broken.
        “Thank you, Forest.” He twisted his way out of her embrace, and looked at Azure Moon. “Ah, Azure, you almost ready to leave?”
        “Ready when you are,” she said with a smile, hoping to cheer him up.
        “Let me grab something from my house,” he commanded. Walking into his house, he reemerged with a bag that looked to be carrying multiple large, cylinder items. Another bag, on his other side, seemed to be filled with supplies, much like Azure’s own.
        “Let’s get going.”
        The two ponies walked for many hours to the north east. The sun beat down upon them and the reddish rocks beneath them. Before long, both ponies were feeling the heat and some breaks had to be taken. In the end, though, they kept walking. At around sunset, Azure became curious as to why they were still walking.
        “We need to walk as far as we can, before the light fades,” was Double Diamond’s answer, and nothing more. Even when pressed further, he said nothing.
        Only once the sun was totally gone and the moon was bathing the land in its pale light did Double Diamond call for a stop. Making a small camp was quick enough, and Double Diamond easily pulled his own weight. After several minutes, a fire was burning and they were beginning to grab their dinners.
        After both had eaten, Double Diamond stood up and retrieved his bags again.
        “Tell me, what do you know about Starlight Glimmer?” Double Diamond asked with a reverent tone when he mentioned Starlight. Azure paused at the question. There were many things to be said about Starlight, and not all of them were good. Telling Double Diamond anything bad about Starlight, though, was one of the easiest ways to make him angry. 
        “I know she was a unicorn mare that created Our Town. She had the ability to take away cutie marks with her magic, and she carried the curse with her every day so others could become equal,” Azure said by rote, accentuating the positives. There were multiple tests in school about Starlight, so anypony who wanted a good grade had to be well read on the subject.
        “That is true, but do you know what she did for you in particular?” Double Diamond pointed a shaking hoof at Azure,
        “She made a jar that was able to take my cutie mark away before she was put into a prison.” Azure smiled at the memory of the kindness that was given to her. It had turned the worst time in her life into the best; she could experience true friendship.
        “Well, you do remember,” Double Diamond mumbled before pulling out the jar from his saddlebag. Azure looked at it closely and saw that it was her mark in the jar: a half circle moon with stars along the edge. Eyes widening, she watched as Double Diamond set the jar in front of him.
        “Azure… I’m sorry for what I have to do.” Double Diamond looked down at the jar and took a deep breath.
        “What do you mean---” she tried to say but was cut off by the sound of breaking glass. Double Diamond had broken the jar, with all of its complex runes and magic stored within it. With one hard slam with a rock, the jar was broken. The cutie mark remained suspended for a brief second before launching itself towards Azure Moon.
        Azure tried to dodge it, to escape her fate, but was too slow. Suddenly, she felt herself change. Levitating slightly, she felt her trickle of magic expand into a stream of it. Her limbs felt stronger, her mind felt more acute, her eyes could see better. She had gained a new sense of the world around her, something she could not describe. She had power.
        Suddenly, she found herself in the air. Her cutie mark had lifted her once it was attached, but suddenly, it began to fade, being replaced with the unrelenting force of magic. She was lifted into the air once more, magical electricity crackling off into the ground. The area was bathed in her magic, and she could barely see from the powerful feeling of magic within her.
        “Azure!” somepony shouted, though it was faint. A wind had picked up around her and it was hard to hear anything. “You have to channel away the magic until you can control it!”
        Trying to form coherent thoughts was difficult, but Azure decided to trust the voice. Channeling all of her magic skyward, she released it as a beam of purple light, which bathed the area around her with purple light. It was visible for many miles by anypony who happened to be looking, though the few that did see it didn’t know what it was.
        After channeling her beam for about five seconds, she felt the stream abate for the time being. She collapsed to the ground, all of her feeling fading. Pushing herself up, she saw Double Diamond over her, making sure she was alright. A few seconds later, anger filled the young mare.
        “What did you do to me?!” she yelled, rising to her feet. She still lacked some strength, but could feel her body already recovering.
        “It had to be done,” Double Diamond tried to explain, making hoof motions to calm her down. Before he could continue, though, he was cut off.
        “Had to be done? Had to be done? What type of joke is this? You ruined my life!” Azure swung a hoof at him, but Double Diamond caught it easily.
        “Will you sit down and let me finish?” he asked, his voice becoming commanding. Pushing her offending hoof away, Azure was forced to spin a little before stopping. Hearing the tone in Double Diamond’s voice, Azure complied, with some hesitation and anger still in her. “Good. Now, you were chosen by Starlight to become the next Equalizer.”
        “Equalizer?” Azure tested the word. “What in the hay is that?”
        “It means that you are going to learn her spell to remove cutie marks.” Double Diamond removed a letter from his pack and handed it over to the unicorn. “This letter explains the process. We will be spending the next few days testing it, making sure you are able to do it.” Double Diamond brought out another jar from his bag. It contained a cutie mark of three blue snowflakes. “This one is mine.” His hooves shaking, he lifted the jar up and thrusted it towards the earth under him. His cutie mark broke into thousands of shards, smaller and finer than Azure’s had. His cutie mark landed upon his flank, and he grimaced as he felt the effects.
        “Why did you do that?” Azure asked in shock. “Now you aren’t equal either.”
        “I’m putting all my hopes on you,” he replied. “If you can’t figure out how to remove my cutie mark Our Town will crumble. I need you to learn it. I’m afraid you can’t use it on yourself, you have to use it on another pony.”
        The two sat in silence for a while before Double Diamond grabbed a blanket and lay down, going to sleep. Azure stayed up a few hours after that, contemplating. She eventually went to bed, still feeling strange. The letter from Starlight Glimmer was complicated, and she didn’t have the training to fully understand it, but if she wanted to return to her normal life, she had to. She had to learn how to remove cutie marks.