The Little Pony Legend: A Kingdom of Friendship

by MaggiesHeartLove

The Cutie Map/A New Chapter part 1.

*(~)*
Proverbs 2:10~
He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.
*(~)*

The Cutie Map/A New Chapter

part 1.

The moon shined over the island, the brand new crystal blue castle shimmered in its light, as the young princess Avatar drifted off to sleep. Her breaths were slow and steady, a sure sign she was relaxed. She had not had a nightmare in a long time, so she could finally sleep soundly. She had no more worries, she had her friends, her family, her true love, and now she had a stunning castle to remind her of their love each and every single day. All was calm and peaceful, even in her sleep she smiled.

Sadly, her peaceful slumber came to an end when she jolted up at the sound of someone crashing into her balcony window. The princess quickly jumped out of bed, her long hair bellowing behind her, and she gasped at who had crashed into her room.

They were two men, completely covered in full body clothing, nearly identical to the pitch black of night, and illuminating green googles. They were the Equalists!

Korra was confused, how were they back? Amon's revolution had died down almost a year ago. But she soon found herself surrounded by more of her past enemies. She attempted to attack with her magic or bending, but quickly realized she could not. It was as if her powers were blocked somehow. This made no sense. She then felt a jab on her neck and she fell to her knees. She looked up and saw the terrible masked image of her first true enemy.

Amon.

"No…This is impossible. You're dead!"

"You can't kill and idea, Avatar." he said in his low but terrifying voice, a voice she remembered all too well.

"Why can't you just leave me alone!" she shouted in anger. But, to her surprise, Amon did not look like he would kill her, rather it seemed he wanted to tell her something. He squatted down to her level and spoke in rhyme, which was unlike him.

"A haunting mistake, has risen again

Lies and deceit within her rein

Follow the path, find the voice

Reveal the truth, and friends

Shall rejoice."

She blinked, for only she could say rhymes like these. Was this another vision?

"What do you mean, 'follow the path'?" she asked, and he spoke once more.

"The seven hearts

On the seven thrones

Reveal what must be known"

Suddenly, in a blinding flash, he was gone.

……..

Korra gasped as she woke up from her dream. Every time Amon was in them it ended up as a nightmare. But this time was entirely different.

(~)

Korra was not the only princess with a new castle. Her fellow princess/bonded pony/soul sister Twilight Sparkle earned a castle of her own. It was given to her by the Tree of Harmony itself, primarily the chest that came with it.

Today, Korra and Twilight sat in their respected thrones when the rest of the Mane Six each took their seat as well. Each throne had the emblem of their cutie mark on them.

The little dragon Spike snored in his smaller throne beside the pony alicorn princess, while the three humans; Mako, Bolin and Asami, stood beside them. Another pony stood with them as well, he was male and had a yellow/orange coat with blue hair, tail and eyes and wings on his back. This was Flash Sentry, Twilight's boyfriend.

Asami now wore a different outfit than what she normally did. It was a long dark magenta dress that ended at her knees but was longer to the left side and shorter on the right, exposing crimson pants with knee high black boot that were tinted purple on the toe. She wore a jacket, the same color as her pants with the sleeves rolled up, exposing her arms and wore golden bracelets on her left hand. Around her waist was a purple sash that faded from purpled to pale yellow at the bottom and a broach that was styled to look like a gear shape, similar to her company's logo, with a lotus flower in the center. The same image was on the longer side of her dress. Needless to say, her clothing was much brighter than before.

Bolin now wore an outfit similar to his old one, only now it consisted of brighter green colors and yellow-green rolled up sleeves with dark green wrist bands and a matching sash around his waist with the Earth Kingdom symbol on it and a patch of Pabu's head on the left side of his shirt.

Mako now wore a different look as well. It was similar to his old one, only now the grey and black jacket was bright red which faded to pale yellow orange at the bottom, dark crimson pants with black boots and a symbol on the side of his jacket which resembles a police badge with a flame symbol on it. His high collar was now a strong gold color with darker gold outlines as were the sash and rolled up sleeves.

Korra wore a new shirt, but it was still a very similar in design as her previous ones. It was similar to the one she wore at the south pole, only it was split in light blue, in the front, and dark blue, on the back, with decorative patterns on the front and her friendship necklace adorned her neck. Her long arm warmers reached her shoulders and revealed her fingers. Her fur pelt was slight purple in culler with white fur lining and a heart-shaped stone around the belt. Her pants were slim and had brown boots with purple diamond shaped at the top and her cutie mark was sowed onto the left side of her pants. Her hair was done in a low ponytail, with edges of hair flaming both sides of her face and a single Raava butterfly broach held the right piece of her hair that was colored light blue.

Even the ponies had different hairstyles. Rainbow Dash had wisps of her bangs slicked back on to of her head with a smaller piece resting on her forehead. Fluttershy had her bang styled slightly lower, almost similar to Asami's hair. Rarity had her hair in a lose high ponytail with new pale blue streaks across her hair and tail. Pinkie Pie wore a blue headband around her forehead, and her long puffy bang was styled to the side of her head.

Twilight's hair had been styled long before theirs was, she now had an edgy styled bang on the right side of her face and her burned scar mark was bare on her right front leg.

The two princesses had gathered their friends together to try and solve the riddle of this mystery. Pinkie Pie hopped onto her throne, not realizing that the image of her cutie mark on the top had begun to slightly glow. Bolin leaned against the throne, "Wooo, I don't think I'm ever gonna get tired of this place. Talk about livin' it up, Pony Style!"

His hair was then ruffled by his loving girlfriend, Asami Sato, who giggled. "You're easily impressed by anything, Bolin." she said jokingly.

"Still, he's right." said Rainbow Dash once she sat down on her own throne, and also didn't realize the image of her cutie mark began to glow.

Twilight Sparkle stood at the center of the palace, while Korra sat on her throne, pondering in thought. "Let's go through this one more time." she said.

Rainbow Dash sighed, "We've been over it like a million times, Twilight! We found all seven keys, defeated Tirek, and got this sweet castle which gave us the blueprints for Korra's new one! End of story!"

"Yes, but why?"

"You're asking that now?" Bolin asked.

"Hey! We had to deal with three crazy sirens, a mad shadow of the night," Twilight stopped herself when she noticed the look on Asami's face, "Eh, no offense Sami."

The heiress sighed, "None taken."

"Not to mention we still have our therapy sections with Leilani so excuse me if our minds were occupied!"

"I dunno, sugarcube." said Applejack as she took seat in her own throne, which also had her cutie mark image which also started to glow. "Maybe it's just your new house and there ain't nothin' more to it than that."

Rarity smiled once she sat on her own throne, and the image of her cutie mark glowed as well, "I must say, speaking strictly on aesthetics, there really doesn't need to be more to it. It's all simply divine!"

"She's right." said Asami, "Maybe instead of trying to make a mystery out of everything you should just enjoy a nice perk. While it lasts."

Mako, Korra's boyfriend, laughed, "Ha! Have you met us? We run into wild mysteries all the time."

Fluttershy took seat in her own throne, and the image of her cutie mark glowed as well, "I agree with Asami. And Rarity. And Applejack. And Rainbow Dash. And Bolin. And Mako. And Pinkie Pie. Oh, and probably Spike."

The little dragon continued to snore.

"This isn't just about the castle." said Korra, "Last night I had a dream…about Amon."

At the sound of his name, Fluttershy yelped and hid her face with her wings while Rainbow Dash flared her nostrils like an angry horse.

"I thought you were over all of that." Flash asked rather bluntly, only to receive a slap at the back of the head from Mako, "Ow! What?"

"That's just it." said Korra, "It wasn't really a nightmare. The Equalists attacked me but, Amon didn't. He began speaking in rhyme. I think it might have been my prophesy abilities manifesting itself in my dream. It's the only explanation I have so far."

"What did he say?" Asami asked.

Korra re-enacted the words he told her last night;

"A haunting mistake, has risen again

Lies and deceit within her rein

Follow the path, find the voice

Reveal the truth, and friends

Shall rejoice.

The seven hearts

On the seven thrones

Reveal what must be known"

"Seven thrones?" Rarity asked curiously.

"Exactly. I think he was talking about our thrones here in the castle. Maybe this place holds some kind of clue to…I don't know what."

Rainbow Dash spoke up, "So, you have a theory to go on, but no solid idea as to what it leads to? Yeah, I may have only just joined the police force in Republic City, but even I know that's not enough to go on."

"But Korra does have a point." Twilight said, "Besides, there are other questions to be asked. As princesses, Korra and I have been chosen to spread the magic of friendship across our two worlds. So why would the Tree of Harmony want us to sit in a castle in Ponyville? It doesn't make any sense."

The alicorn finally sat on her on throne, and once she did she noticed the symbol of her cutie mark was glowing. Korra looked up above her and the symbol of her cutie mark on her throne was glowing as well. The others watched in awe as the marks glowed even brighter than ever before.

The glows intensified and colorful rays shined onto the central star of the room. The castle began to shake and rumble, beside their thrones, crystal rocks emerged and grew, reaching the center of the star that was in the center of the room.

"I swear, I'm not doing this!" Bolin exclaimed, holding his hands up in surrender. Once the rocks reached the center, something began to grow and the whole room was engulfed in a blinding white light….

Spike groaned whey he woke up from his nap. Rubbing his sleepy eyes before they bulged open and his jaw dropped.

At the very center stood a large round stone table with what appeared to be some kind of 3-dimensional map, showcasing all of Equestria, from Canterlot, to Ponyville, to the Crystal Empire. There was even an image of the portal that connected the pony world to the human world. Everyone was jaw dropped and wide eyed at the scene.

"Is that new?" Spike asked, "I like it."

Mako's jaw was still open and Flash Sentry closed it for him, not taking their eyes off of the new map. "That just happened." said the firebender.

Korra's eyes sparkled in realization, "It's just like Amon said! 'The seven hearts. On the seven thrones. Reveal what must be known'! This is why the tree gave us this castle! This is how we can spread the magic of friendship!"

Bolin stared wide eyes like a little child as he looked at the new map. "This is incredible! It's got all of Equestria! There's Manehattan, the Crystal Empire, Rainbow Falls, Canterlot, some place I don't know."

Spike began waking over the map, admiring it, "And there's Apple Looza, Fillydelphia…"

Pinkie Pie spotted the rock farm where she grew up in, "Hi, Mom and Dad!" then, Spike stomped onto the holographic image, causing the poor Pinkie Pie to tear up.

Korra then spotted the image of the portal in Ponyville. She poked it with her finger and instantly, the map shifted, transforming into the world map of her own world.

"Wow!"

"Apparently it works both ways." said Twilight, equally impressed.

Bolin spotted Ba Sing Se in the map, "Hello, little Ba Sing Se!" his lip quivered when Spike stomped on that too.

Korra tapped on the portal once more and the map shifted back to Equestria. Then, she felt a tingly feeling on her cheek. Her cutie mark was glowing and…vibrating?

Twilight felt her cutie mark do the same, in fact, the rest of the Mane Six felt their marks reacting somehow. Holographic images of their marks began to float up into the air, with Korra's at the center and all the rest circling around it. All seven hovered over the map before stopping over a deserted area in Equestria near the desert. Asami gently took Spike out of the map and placed him back down beside her.

"But if this is Ponyville, why are our cutie marks over there?" Fluttershy asked, pointing at the area where the marks had rested upon.

"I don't know." said Twilight, "But it seems like the map wants us to find out." she then smiled enthusiastically, "Think about it; The Tree, the chest, this castle, and now the map. How can we not follow it?"

Rainbow Dash hovered over the are where the marks floated upon, "Y'know what? There's a ton of room for dangerous adventure along that route. Count me in!"

Bolin rose his hand up, "I'm all for it!"

"Me too." said Asami.

Applejack simply shrugged, "Aw, shoot, I reckon you're right."

Korra and Twilight turned to their boyfriends, "You boys in?" Korra asked.

Mako and Flash exchanged smiles before turning back to the girls, "Well, somebody's got to keep you girls from getting into too much trouble." Flash said rather smugly, earning playful 'are you kidding me' looks from the girls.

"Well, I was planning on organizing my baking sheets," said Pinkie Pie, "but okay!

Rarity sighed in agreement, "Very well."

The rest of the group then looked upon Fluttershy, awaiting her response. "Um, maybe I'll just stay here with Spike."

"Awesome!" The little dragon was now wearing a soda drinking hat and a foam finger on his right claw. "Me, Kai and Big Mac have a huge weekend ahead of us talkin' hoofball, and... and trading hoofball cards, and arguing about hoofball stats…"

"O-o-on second thought, m-maybe I'd better go with them." Fluttershy said so save her own skin, "In case they need me."

"Looks like it's time for a road trip." Twilight said as she got up from her throne.

Asami clapped her hands once in excitement, "Perfect! We can take the Future Industries new airship. A bit smaller than the other one, but sufficient enough for all of us."

Rainbow Dash flipped in mid air, "Awesome! Travelin' in style!"

Korra stood up as well, "Well enough talk, let's get going."

(~)

The team took the rest of the day to getting ready for their journey. Mako, Bolin and Flash Sentry were at Asami's estate packing everything they would need. Their extended family from Ba Sing Sea were staying with the heiress while things were being handled in the Earth Kingdom. With the newly reformed earth Queen and her second in command Kuvira, who was also appointed by Korra and the world leaders themselves, was doing a splendid job.

Mako listed the items in his bag, "Okay, water: Check. Bug spray: Check. Bandages incase Bolin gets a splinter in his finger and or eye…again. Check."

He briefly stooped to make sure he gathered everything, while his adopted son, the lizard dragonfly spirit named San scrawled into his bag and started rummaging into it. Mako caught him and gently pulled the little fella out by the tail.

"Ah, ah, ah, not for you San."

The spirit whimpered sadly until his dad gave him a little treat to eat, and the rest of the three sprits, Ali and Mika, appeared as well. "Okay, now I want you all to be on your best behavior while mommy and I are away." the spirits chirped in agreement. "Also, you guys are not allowed to dip cousin Tu's hand in water while he sleeps, okay?"

San at first pouted, but upon seeing his dad's stern face, he promised not to do so anymore. Mako smiled proudly, "Now come on, give daddy a goodbye hug." the spirits chirped happily as they hugged him.

Meanwhile, Asami was outside, supervising the final touches on their new airship. Bolin walked up to her, flashing his charming smile.

"Do my eyes deceive me, or is there an angel standing before me?"

Asami loved it when he used his dorky charms to win her over. Because they always worked. "Always such a charmer, my good sir." she said with a giggle.

"So, need any help here?"

"That's very sweet but we're good."

Bolin's shoulders dropped, "You sure? Maybe I can, uh, lift something or maybe turn the do-hikey-think, or maybe--" he stopped when Asami kissed his cheek.

"Really, we're fine. If I ever need anything I'll let you know." she promised.

"Promise?"

"Promise." Then she flashed him a flirty smile, "Actually, there may be one thing I need. A pair of lips, perhaps?"

Bolin smiled in return and leaned in to kiss Asami's soft perfect lips. Once they made contact, the two blushed as their kiss deepened. Some of the workers either swooned or rolled their eyes. Typical teens in love.

Once the kiss ended Bolin couldn't get rid of the happy grin on his face. "Gotta get back to work." Asami said, "Why don't you go see if your brothers are done packing yet." she said as she walked back to the airship, and Bolin waved.

"Okay! I'll do that….no problem." he lowered his shoulders in sadness as he walked away. If only he was more of a tech wiz like Asami, maybe then they could do something together. While they did do other things as well, whenever she was working in her element, Bolin felt out of place.

Asami watched him leave and her heart dropped. Maybe she had been spending too much time working lately. She promised herself she would make it up to him when she had the chance.

(~)

The following day, Asami's new airship took flight. It looked very similar to her other larger one, only less extravagant but just as sufficient. It had glass windows for everyone to look upon while Asami piloted the machine. The friends marveled at the beauty of the land down bellow them. The scenery shifted and changed as time went by.

At one point, Bolin took the time to talk to Mako and Flash Sentry, his brothers. He tapped his fingers nervously about what he would say next. "Um, guys. Can I ask you something?"

Flash placed his hoof on his shoulder, "Sure Bolin. You can tell us anything. What's on your mind."

"Well, it's about Asami."

"I thought things were going great with you two." said Mako

"Oh, no, no it's nothing like that. We're fine, it's just…well, whenever Asami's doing her business and engineering type stuff, I sort of feel…out of place."

Mako placed a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder, "Hey, we understand. Dating a successful woman isn't always easy. But it can work out."

"But what do I do? I'm no tech wiz like she is."

"No, but maybe this can be a good thing. Instead of trying to act like you know, ask her to teach you. Learn about what she does, get interested. When Korra became fascinated with magic I took the time to learn about it too so I could better understand. Just like she became interested in my police work."

"What Mako's trying to say is that learning to embrace each other's interest can bring a couple closer." Flash said, "Just give it a try."

"But what if she talks and I can't grasp any of that stuff?" Bolin's spirits dropped once more, his arms dangling. "Let's face it, I'm no genius."

"That's not true." Mako said sincerely, "You're smart in a lot of things."

"Name one thing!"

"Well, you're good at making friends…though, bad at reading people." Mako tried to find something else, "Okay, wait, you can lava bend and you tell…okay jokes, you're great with kids and animals and you're incredibly honest. And most importantly, Asami likes you for you. Stop trying too hard."

Before Bolin could say another word, they heard Twilight Sparkle exclaim excitedly as she pointed towards the ground bellow. "That's it! That's the place on the map! Take us down, Asami."

"You got it!" the heiress saluted and stirred the airship to land. The place was a desert area with little to few plants and various rocks surrounded the pace. The airship was parked beside a bed of rocks and the group exited, reaching the edge of a cliff where they spotted a small village before them. The houses were arranged in two opposite straight lines facing one another while one slightly bigger house stood at the end of them.

"There it is." Korra said as she looked upon the simple village.

Rarity shook her mane to remove the dust that had already stuck to her once they exited the ship. "Right. let's get down there and find the spa."

The unicorn walked on ahead until she was stopped by Twilight, who teleported in front of her. "Wait. We don't know why the map sent us here. We shouldn't just walk right in. It could be dangerous.

"Yes!" Rainbow cheered. She loved danger.

Flash rolled his eyes, "Come on, how dangerous can it really be? It looks like a harmless village."

"Looks can be deceiving, Flash." his girlfriend reminded him.

Pinkie Pie stepped forward, separating the two. A serious expression dawned on her face. "Stay behind me, everybody! I'm on it!"

"Careful, Pinkie!" Applejack cried out as Pinkie stood at the very tip of the ledge. The pony then rolled down the hill, completely unharmed, and stopped behind a rock, looking around. She was in total spy mode. She silently gestured the others to follow her. She then hid underneath various rocks, while still being cautious. The final rock she crawled under was much larger in size. She grunted as she lifted it up and gestured the others to follow. The bolder landed on her entire body, leaving only her front hoof visible, for which was still gesturing the others to move along before the pony herself dragged the large rock along with her, despite its size.

Once she stopped, Pinkie came out and the others looked on from behind the bolder. Up close, the place looked like any other village they had seen. It was very simple, silent and pleasant in appearance, even the pony residents didn't look any different from one another. There were earth, unicorn and peagi all around.

Rainbow Dash arched an eyebrow in disappointment. "This is where the map sent us? It looks like the most boring place in Equestria."

"I told you it wasn't dangerous." Flash said to Twilight, "You were worried for nothing."

Twilight rolled her eyes, "Well excuse me for trying to be cautious!"

"Flash's right." said Asami as she looked upon the heard of ponies, who all appeared to be extremely happy and normal in appearance. "It's just a normal town with normal ponies."

"I think it's lovely." said Fluttershy. But one pony did not like the scenery at all.

"I don't like it. I don't like it one bit." Pinkie Pie narrowed her eyes at the townponies, "I know smiles. And those smiles? They're just not right."

The others studied the smiles the ponies had on their faces. They had to admit, they did seem a tad 'too' happy. Almost as if they kept smiling like that their cheeks would burn of pain. They did appear to be very forced and not natural at all. All of the males had the same identical hairstyle, cut, neat with two separate bangs while all of the females shared the same bangs and wore their manes in either the form of braids, buns or straight. It was a tad odd to see ponies having such identical and in-unique hairstyles like they did.

But Twilight caught sight of another odd thing about the ponies. "Forget the smiles. Look at the cutie marks."

Their eyes shifted to the markings on the ponies' flanks and that was when Pinkie's suspicion about the ponies became all the more plausible. Each and every single pony had the exact same cutie mark!

Each one was a blain, boring, grey colored equal sign. Nothing about them looked unique in any aspect.

"Okay, that's weird." said Rainbow Dash.

"An entire village with the same cutie mark?" Mako asked, "How is that possible? Wait, is it possible?"

"I bet there's some sort of horrific monster behind it." said Rainbow Dash.

"What makes you say that?" Asami asked.

"'Cause fighting a horrific monster would be super-awesome!"

The heiress simply rolled her eyes and shook her head. Typical Rainbow Dash.

"I reckon we just ought to head into town and talk to some locals, find out what's goin' on." said Applejack.

"Good idea." said Mako, he was then startled when Rainbow Dash speeded beside him.

"Then let's go!"

The group headed towards the town, and Korra has a sinking feeling this was what her dream was referring to.

"A haunting mistake, has risen again

Lies and deceit within her rein

Follow the path, find the voice"

Pinkie Pie kept her suspicious eyes on the ponies. "Those smiles are bad news."

(~)

Once they reached the town, all of the townponies looked upon their new visitors, causing Team Avatar to slightly flinch. The obviously cheerful smiles of the ponies, and almost complete lack of blinking, made the team feel extremely uncomfortable. There was clearly something very wrong with this place.

Korra felt the uneasiness as well. The scenery reminded her of the tales Katara once told her about the old times in Ba Sing Se when she traveled with Aang and her friends in her youth. She would explain, in vivid detail, how the city was practically a prison and false utopia for everyone there. Including the king. She still shivered at the memory of when Katara mentioned the brainwashing on people, and the thought of it not only gave her the bad kind of goosebumps, but also an anger within. The idea of taking another person's free will is just monstrous and morally wrong.

As they walked, Bolin held onto Asami's hand, feeling extremely creeped out by the happy smiles as the ponies welcomed their visitors. Their smiles never once wavering.

"Welcome!"

"Welcome!"

"Welcome!"

"Welcome!"

"Welcome!"

Bolin yelped each time and held Asami closer, which she did not mind. Not only did she feel needed when he held her, but she too felt she needed somebody to keep her steady at the sight of so many bizarre faces.

"This must be the most pleasant place in Equestria!" Fluttershy said, being the only member of the team who was open-minded to the scenario.

"Welcome!" said a female pegasus who flew up to greet her. Her coat was moderate azure and her mane was white with light bluish gray streaks, styled much like the rest of the female ponies, with two bangs over her forehead. While other mares either had their on two braids or a bun, her's was loose.

"My name is Night Glider." she said

"Nice to meet you, Night Glider. I'm Fluttershy."

But Rainbow Dash simply groaned in frustration at the boringness of the town. "Ugh. Thanks a lot, map." she said under her breath. She was hoping for adventure, not…this.

A male unicorn approached the team. His coat was a light cyanish grey (or more gray than normal), and his pale moderate azure mane mane was styled with a simple bang. He wore a brown, worn out cloak tied together with a rope. He addressed to the purple pony with a horn and wings.

"Welcome! Pardon my forwardness, but are you an Alicorn?"

Twilight smiled, "Depends, do you see any other pony with a horn and wings?"

"Not really." said the male unicorn, smiling as signifying he got the joke.

"Then, yeah I am. My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle." she said confidently. After having to face Equalists, dark spirits, anarchists, depression, sirens and a spirit of darkness, what was she to be shy about with a young unicorn stallion.

"Actually, she's the Princess of Friendship!" said Flash Sentry.

"Well, you've certainly come to the right place for friendship." The unicorn said, almost creepily the last word, and then looked up at the two legged creatures. Especially the one with wings. "And you must be the famous Princess Avatar. We never have imagined the great uniter of our worlds would grace our humble village."

Korra bowed in respect, "It's very nice to meet you, Sir…?"

"My name is Party Favor." he said, just when a second stallion appeared next to him. He was white from head to hoof with an identical mane-style and blue eyes.

"What brings you to town?" he asked.

"We're not entirely sure." Korra confessed.

"I see. Well, all are welcome here in our little village. My name is Double Diamond."

The country pony greeted him, "Howdy, Double Diamond. I'm Applejack, and this here's Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Flash Sentry, Bolin, Asami Sato, Mako, Twilight Sparkle and Avatar Korra."

Double Diamond studied the ponies, particularly their flanks, "And you all have your own unique cutie marks." he said as he gazed at Flash's mark, making him feel uncomfortable.

"Hey! Personal space, dude!" Flash exclaimed, narrowing his eyes while he covered his flank with his tail.

Twilight spoke to the two ponies, hoping to find an answer to all of the strangeness they could clearly see in the village. "If you don't mind, has there been any sort of... trouble here, lately?"

"Trouble? Why, I don't think we've ever had trouble in our little village." said Double Diamond.

Korra placed her hands on her knees and squatted down slightly, smiling at the two ponies and speaking in an eloquent tone, "If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you all receive such…interesting cutie marks? They really are unlike anything I've ever seen."

"We'd me more than happy to tell you." said Double Diamond, "Perhaps you would like to speak to our founder and leader, Starlight Glimmer."

"That would be wonderful! Thank you."

"Follow us, please."

The team smiled in triumph, they were going to get the answers they were seeking.

"Nice one, babe." Mako said with a proud smile.

"What can I say? I've got the pony charm." Korra said with a flip of her hair.

"I wish everypony in Equestria was as friendly as these ponies are." said Fluttershy.

But Pinkie Pie was still not convinced, "I've got my eye on them. Something's rotten in... whatever the name of this village is that we're in right now!"

"I'm with Pinkie Pie." Bolin whispered to Asami and turned back at the strangely happy ponies, "These ponies give me the creeps."

"Bolin, don't be rude." Asami lectured in a whispering tone before adding, "They could be listening." she said with a hint of worry in her voice.

Double Diamond and Party Favor led their guests to the lone house that stood at the very end of the village's center. Both knocked on the door, once opened the two stallions, as well as Team Avatar, entered the home.

"Starlight, we have some new visitors." said Double Diamond.

Once inside, they team took a moment to study the inside of the house. It was very simple with brown, earth-like colors and images of the equal cutie mark on the walls. This equal sign triggered something within Korra's mind. Somehow, she knew there was a connection to the equal cutie marks and her dream of Amon and the Equalists….the equalists…

A single door stood at the end of the room as they heard hoof-steps approach.

"Be ready to fight." Rainbow said to Mako and Applejack, "We don't know what's gonna come through that door."

The door opened and out stepped a young beautiful unicorn mare. Her eyes were persian blue and her coat was a stunning light gray heliotrope. Her mane was styled in a loosely done high long ponytail, it was colored purple with lighter purple and light aquamarine streaks which also decorated her beautifully styled tail. However, what killed the beauty was the equal sign cutie mark she shared with the rest of the inhabitants.

"Welcome! I'm so pleased to have you here."

Rainbow Dash groaned in frustration, she wanted to fight an evil monster, not some prissy unicorn pony. Double Diamond began introducing the teams to the unicorn.

"This is Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Flash Sentry, Asami, Bolin, Mako, Twilight Sparkle and Avatar Korra."

The two princesses smiled at the young unicorn, who caught notice of their wings. "Forgive my bluntness, but I'm assuming it's Princess Twilight Sparkle and Princess Avatar Korra? We don't get many Alicorns around here. Or any humans for that matter."

"Yes, but just "Twilight" and "Korra" is fine." said the alicorn.

"It's very nice to meet you Starlight." Korra said, "Such a lovely name for a lovely pony."

"Why thank you, you are too kind. So, how did you and your comrades hear of our little village?"

"It's kind of a long story." said Twilight, "Let's just say we found it on a map."

"Technically, it's a Tree-chest-castle-map!" Pinkie Pie pointed out with a smile, before glaring at Starlight and sliding away from view.

"Well, however you found us, we're happy to have you! We're happy to have anypony who wants to experience true friendship for the first time."

Applejack arched an eyebrow, "Say what?"

"Oh, indeed. That's what's so unique about our village, you see." Starlight adjusted the image of an equal sign on the wall, "Around here, we don't flaunt our special talents because we don't have any special talents to flaunt."

Bolin shook his head in disbelief, "Wait a second! You mean you guys have no talents at all?"

"Nope. Not a one." Starlight said proudly.

"Not even the talent to bake?"

"Nope."

"Or sing, or do sports?"

"Nope."

"Or make cloths, or jokes, or plant a garden, or write a book, or paint, or--"

"Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. And nope."

"Is that why you all have those cutie marks?" Twilight asked, "Then, does that also mean you don't have bending powers either?"

Starlight arced an eyebrow, "Bending? Oh! You must mean those elemental abilities humans have."

"Yes. After Harmonic Convergence ponies regained their abilities from their ancient ancestors."

"Well, our ponies don't have any use for those abilities." Starlight said with a smile, which only concerned the team even more.

"I'm still a little confused." Korra said.

"Perhaps it would be easier to understand if I gave you a tour of the village!"

Starlight walked out the door as a marching drum cadence was heard. She marched out with all of the town ponies following her.

Starlight Glimmer;

"Heads high, ponies! Marching proud! All together now! Every one of you! No pony left behind!"

Life is so grand in our town

We're always filled with cheer

We never have to look around

To know that we're all here

The equal ponies marched and sang around Team Avatar, who were not buying any of this supposed happiness.

Citizens;

In our town, in our town

We don't have to wait

To find out that our destiny

Is just to emulate

Starlight Glimmer marched along as the ponies continued to smile.

Starlight Glimmer;

"Let's see those big, happy smiles!"

Life is a smile in our town

Our cutie marks the same

Because we do not separate

Ourselves by more than name

Two male pegasus ponies sang to Rainbow Dash, much to her discomfort.

Citizens;

In our town, in our town

We dare not compete

Winning only breeds the worst

Ego-filled conceit

Starlight Glimmer;

"You see? Now everypony wins!"

Life is a joy in our town

We're all equal here

No one is superior

And no one shakes in fear

Citizens;

In our town, in our town

We work as a team

You can't have a nightmare

If you never dream

But the Team was not convinced, not even a little bit. But Fluttershy was the only one who was completely fine with all of this, believing the ponies were genuinely happy. Starlight Glimmer sang to the Mane Six.

Starlight Glimmer;

Other ponies argue

Do you ever wonder why?

When you think your talent's special

You don't see eye-to-eye

As she sang that part of the song, she smiled flirtatiously at Flash Sentry, much to his discomfort and Twilight's envy.

There's just too many differences

That lead to disarray

But when you learn to act as one

It's like a holiday

Citizens;

In our town, in our town

We don't complicate

Fluttershy nodded her head to the music, but Pinkie Pie scorned her, shaking her head and Fllutterhy's eyes teared up.

When you learn to simplify

Life is oh, so great

Join in our utopia

Come out of the dark

Banded by equality

By our cutie mark!

Two rows of ponies smiled as the pegasus flew up with an equal banner as Starlight stood at the center.

Rainbow Dash bursted laughing, "You're kidding, right? Give up our cutie marks? No way!"

"Rainbow Dash, don't be so rude." Fluttershy said sternly, "I don't think we should judge them. They all seem perfectly happy with their choice."

"Don't believe their smiles, Fluttershy." Pinkie Pie said, for once, having a disgusted tone at the word 'smiles'.

"I'm sorry, I guess we're still a little confused by all of this." Twilight said.

"We have no judgements here in our village. Each of us was confused once as well, blinded by the false promise of our cutie marks."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Is she for real?" Rainbow asked in disbelief, only to be elbowed at the leg by Twilight.

Korra skeptically studied the cutie mark on Starlight. The more they spoke of equality, the more Korra's mind returned to her dream. She amped up the guts to ask the village leader, "This may seem like an odd question but, does the name 'Amon' mean anything to you?"

Starling looked at her in confusion, as did the other ponies. "Sorry, I'm afraid it doesn't. Is he a friend of yours?"

"Well…it's complicated." Korra studied the ponies once more. Their cutie marks, the fact they had no talents, all this talk about Equality and that having special talents was considered a bad thing and only divided friends…it was all too familiar for her to ignore. The memory of the dream made it all the more so.

A haunting mistake, has risen again

Lies and deceit within her rein

Amon's voice rang once more. They needed to get to the bottom of this mystery. "If it's alright with you, could we stay for a little while longer?" Korra asked.

Bolin and Rainbow were startled by her words, "What?!"

"Of course!" Starlight said cheerfully, "After all, nopony has ever come to our village and wanted to leave. Why should you be any different? Please, enjoy our little corner of Equestria. We're all quite fond of it. No doubt you will be as well." she then smiled at Flash Sentry, standing a bit too close to his liking, "I especially look forward to getting to know you."

"Uh…" Flash quickly zipped away from her and wrapped his wing around Twilight, showcasing he was spoken for. "I'm already seeing somepony."

Starlight pouted in disappointment but shrugged it off, "Very well. Double Diamond, please help our guests with whatever they might need."

"Of course." the white pony smiled at the friends, making them feel even more uncomfortable. As Starlight Glimmer walked away, smiling to herself.

"Well, this will certainly provide a boost to our little community. When the rest of Equestria sees that a princess gave up her cutie mark to join us, they'll finally understand what we're trying to accomplish."

(~)

Team Avatar received more and more "Welcome"s from the citizens, which only made them feel even more frighten.

"I still can't believe it." Korra said to herself, "Everything about this place is just screaming deja vu."

"What do you mean?" Pinkie asked.

"Don't you see? The equal signs, all this talk about equality and how differences are bad. Doesn't it sound a bit too familiar to you?"

Pinkie Pie pondered for a moment and the memory came to her. She inhaled and gasped, "They're Equalists!…sort of."

"This could be the reason why the map send us here." said Twilight, "And a connection to Korra's dream."

"Exactly. Question now is: How in the heck did Starlight or anypony manage to—" she was interrupted when Rarity gasped in shock.

"What in the name of Raava is that?!" she pointed to a shpt that sold worn, old and boring cloaks, the same one Party Favor wore as well. The shopkeeper smiled at the ponies.

"Welcome! Care to sample some local fashion? We've got cloaks this month!"

Rarity did nothing to hide her disgust, gagging at the sight, "Wha— Ooh, er, perhaps another time, good sir, thank you." the friends sat around a wooden table, "No wonder nopony's wearing anything!" Rarity whispered to Applejack.

Fluttershy spoke sternly at her friends, "Really, girls! They may do things a bit differently than we're used to, but that's no reason to be rude."

"No, the reason to be rude is that they all keep staring at us!" Rainbow said in a hushed tone while the others ponies observed them. All while maintaining their generic smiles.

Bolin gulped as she scooted closer to Asami, "I think they can smell fear." he whispered.

Double Diamond stood on another table, opposite to Team Avatar. "Need something?" he asked.

Twilight simply waved, "Uh, no! We're good!" she then spoke in a hushed tone to her friends, "Fluttershy's right. If we're going to get to the bottom of how these ponies lost their cutie marks and bending, we're going to need their help."

"How are we suppose to do that?" Flash asked, "Look at them. It sure doesn't look like they want to change anything. No matter how creepy and wrong it is."

"So you're sayin' we ran off to the end of Equestria for nothin'?" Applejack asked, crossing her hooves in annoyance.

"If we were at the end of Equestria, we'd be standing on a giant 'A'!" Pinkie giggled, "Get it?"

Rarity hoof palmed herself, "Oh, please, Miss Pie! This is hardly the time for jokes!"

"I'm just saying it won't be as easy as it sounds." Flash stated, "Quit putting words in my mouth, A.J!"

"Well, we've come all this way for an obvious reason!" Rarity stated, "We can't just up and leave."

"Rarity's right." said Mako, "No matter how long it takes, we can't leave until we find out what's really going on."

"I think the real mystery here is if two bits'll get you a cup of cider." said Applejack.

"Is this a bad time?" the pony waitress asked. She was a female unicorn with a gray pink coat, a dark grey magenta mane styled into a bun and moderate cerise eyes.

"We shouldn't be bickering like this in front of our new friends." said Fluttershy sternly to Applejack and Flash, "Really, you two are almost as bad as Rainbow Dash!"

"Don't drag me into this!" said the rainbow pegasus. Upon hearing the friends bicker, some of the older village ponies began covering the ears of the younger generation as to not hear them.

"I was just being realistic here." Flash said in defense, "I never said we had to leave!"

"Can't we just have some lunch?" Bolin asked hopefully, "All of this mystery, and arguing is making me tense. I need some food in my system."

The pony waitress spoke kindly to Rarity. "Is your friendship ending?" she asked

"Are you crazy?!" Pinkie Pie said happily, "We'd never let a disagreement get in the way of food!" she licked her lips.

"O-kay, well, my name is Sugar Belle." The pony waitress levitated a pencil and notepad, "What can I bring you? We have muffins…"

……………………….

"Then I guess we'll take eleven muffins." said Twilight, after a brief awkward pause.

"Make that fifteen!" Pinkie said while waving her hoof, receiving eye rolls and annoyed glares, "What? I'm hungry!"

Korra spoke in a hushed tone, "Come on, guys. The map send us here for a reason, and my dream was clearly no coincidence. Which means, no matter what happens, we've got to stick together."

"I guess you're right." said Applejack, "And the sooner we figure out what's really goin' on, the sooner we can go home." the pony's eyes widened once the tray of muffins was placed on the table. Needless to say, they did not look very appetizing.

"Forgive me for overhearing," said Sugar Belle, "but just a moment ago you were disagreeing, and now it sounds like you're... agreeing."

The friends looked at Sugar Belle and then at each other, skeptically.

"Yeah." said Asami.

"Well, you had such differing opinions – and cutie marks. Not to mention you're ponies and humans."

"We have differing opinions all the time, darling." Rarity said.

"But you look like you're friends." said Sugar Belle, still a tad confused.

"We are friends." Twilight said, "A simple disagreement wouldn't change that."

"Besides, we've been through way too much together to let anything get in the way of our bonds." Korra said kindly.

However, a certain white pony was listening to their conversation, and Sugar Belle began to grow a tad nervous. "I'm sorry, I'm just having a hard time understanding. Different talents lead to different opinions, which lead to bitterness and misery. So... why aren't you bitter and…?"

"Blech!", Pinkie Pie and Bolin started to chock on the muffins, which in turn tasted downright awful. But they realized what they had done, they forced themselves to smile and pretend to like the treats.

"Mmmm… good…"

But Sugar Belle was not offended, "It's all right. I know I'm not a very good baker. At least, I know I'm not any better than anypony else in the village." her eyes shifted to behind her as Double Diamond eyed her suspiciously and she forced a smile at the customers, "Well, I... hope you enjoy our little village!"

As she walked back into the store, Pinkie and Bolin keep cleaning their tongues from the horrible taste in their mouths. But then, Sugar Bells whispered to them once more, this one she no longer forced a smile but looked frantic and worried.

"Come inside before you go! Meet me downstairs!" she forced a smiled at Double Diamond's way before she walked back inside.

"Okay, that was weird too." Rainbow said.

Mako leaned in and whispered to Korra, "Looks like we got ourselves a lead."

Korra levitated one of the muffins and placed it onto her hand, "Let's all sit here and eat these muffins and act normal. I think we're being watched."

Their eyes shifted to the other ponies, who while doing their routines, didn't take their eyes off of them.

"You think?" Flash said sarcastically.

"No, not like that!" Twilight said in a hush tone, "She means somepony here doesn't want us talking to Sugar Belle." she nodded her head to the white earth pony a few feet away from them, who happily ate his muffin.

Applejack rubbed her chin in thought, "I got an idea. But you gotta eat all of them muffins, Pinkie."

"Me?! Why me?!" the pony pulled on her mane in despair, "Why can't Bolin do it?!"

"Hey!" Bolin exclaimed.

"You got a stronger stomach than any of us, and that filly in there might be our best chance at findin' out what the hay is goin' on round here."

Korra placed a reassuring hand on her friend, "Come on Pinkie, you can do this. You've eaten worse."

Pinkie Pie really, really, really, really didn't want to eat those muffins. But, if they were going to get their answers, she had to do it.

"Tell my parents I love them."

(~)

This was one of the hardest sacrifices she had to make. There was only one muffin left, but her stomach was already so full and her face was green from the nausea. She took the last muffin and put it in her mouth, chewing it. She was so happy it was finally over, but her poor stomach would be suffering for a long time.

"I can't believe you ate all our muffins, Pinkie Pie!" Applejack said stilted.

Mako followed her example, "Oh, darn! We'd better go inside and get some more!"

Once inside, the group made their way down the stairs to see Sugar Belle. "Nice work, Pinkie." said Twilight.

"Yeah, I didn't think you'd make it." Mako confessed.

"I never doubted you." said Bolin.

The now bloated pink pony rolled down the stairs, landing on the ground, still feeling sick. "I've accidentally eaten cardboard tastier than that…"

Korra squatted down and gently petted her head in sympathy while Twilight called out for the waitress pony. "Hello? Sugar Belle?"

"Thank you for coming!" the pony emerged from the shadows, wearing the signature smile that was highly contagious in this town, it seemed.

"Why did you want us to come down here?"

"So nopony could see what's about to happen."

From the shadows of the basement, two more ponies emerged. Party Favor and Night Glider smiled widely as they always did and the three slowly approached the group. They suspected it was a trap, Twilight readied her horn to fight, until...

"Are you really the Princess of Friendship?" Party Favor asked in awe.

"Do you know Princess Celestia?" Night Glider asked, equally interested.

The others lowered their defenses once they realized the ponies meant no harm. Sugar Belle admired Pinkie's mark, "I love your cutie mark!"

Party Favor looked at Flash's mark, "Yours has a shield. Are you some sort of protector?"

Flash smiled awkwardly, "Well, actually I work for the police department in Republic City."

Night Glider hovered over Korra, "You're wings are so beautiful! I never knew a human could be half pony! And why is your cutie mark on your cheek?"

"How come other humans don't have cutie marks?" Sugar Belle asked, "Does this mean you don't have any talents?"

"Well, not exactly." said Mako, right before her opened up his palm to reveal a shimmering flame. The three ponies marveled at the dancing ambers, it was like magic.

"Wow…"

"Amazing!"

"Ahh."

"How do you do that?"

"It's called Bending." Mako explained, "Where we're from, some humans have the ability to control any of the four elements."

"Do you have bending powers as well?" Party Favor asked Asami.

"Well, no. But I am the owner of a very successful company where I manufacture all kinds of transportation vehicles and technology."

"Wow!"

"How can you be friends with different cutie marks?" Night Glider asked Pinkie and Rarity, "Don't you end up hating each other?"

Sugar Belle marveled at Fluttershy's cutie mark, "Oh, look at this one! This one's great too! I'd love to have my special talent back even just for a day! Make something besides those disgusting muffins…" Sugar Belle lowered her ears in sadness as she tried to remember what her old cutie mark looked like. She missed creating special new pastries that made other ponies happy. Now, all she could make were those terrible bland muffins.

"So what's stopping you?" Rainbow asked, "Go get your cutie marks back."

"Daydreaming is one thing," said Party Favor, "but you mean actually having it put back on? That seems extreme."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. These ponies were impossible.

"I'm not sure Starlight would like that." said Sugar Belle, "She wants us all to be happy in our sameness."

Korra sat down on her knees, "How do you take somepony's cutie mark anyway?" she asked.

Night Glider smiled as she explained, "The cutie unmarking is a beautiful experience! Starlight uses the Staff of Equality to magically take them away and replace them with these." she and the other two turned to demonstrated their identical cutie marks.

"But nopony should keep you from your cutie mark." said Twilight, "It represents such an essential part of who you are."

"Oh, we're not kept from them. They're in the vault up in the caves. We can visit them any time we like to remind us of the heartache of a life with special talents."

"We haven't been there since eight months ago." Party Favor explained, "Ever since…that day."

"What day?" Korra asked.

"Everything was perfectly normal, until we all suddenly felt as if something was wrong. The skies turned dark and the land was loosing color. But then, we saw these beautiful lights high above the sky and the magic was suddenly back! But then, we noticed the caves glowing from our village. We felt as if something had happened to our cutie marks."

"Because of our curiosity, Starlight lead us all up there," said Sugar Belle, "When we saw the cutie marks, we realized some of them were different."

Night Glider explained next, "Some had flames around them."

"Others had water or a tornado of winds." said Party Favor.

"There were even some with rocks circling around them." Sugar Belle said.

Korra's eyes widened in realization, "Your bending." she stated. "What happened that day was Harmonic Convergence. When our worlds became one, ponies all around regained the bending inherited from their ancestors from long ago. Only now, without your cutie marks and talents, you couldn't have obtained them. They're locked in that cave with your original talents."

"Bending is just as an important to a human as a cutie mark is to a pony." Twilight said.

"How do you know all of this?" Party Favor asked.

Korra smiled as she explained, "After I became an alicorn, I felt the energies within humans and ponies. We may be different in a lot of ways, but we're also just as similar. We all have talents and skills that make us unique, but we also have similar dreams, fears and even desires. Not to sound braggy, but I'm kind of a symbol of the unity between our species. And as much as I understand what Starlight is trying to do with this village, I can also see the flaws in her philosophy."

Her words managed to reach the three ponies like never before. She spoke with such honesty and compassion, something even Starlight didn't appear to have much of anymore.

"Yes, differences can lead to arguments and disagreements at times, but they can also be a good thing. Having friends who see things differently can actually help you grow into a better you, just as they did for me. Special talents don't make you evil, it's how you use them that determines that."

The three ponies never thought of it that way. They knew Korra wasn't using any tricks on them, they could feel it in their hearts. Could it be true that Starlight's ways were wrong?

"About a year ago, I encountered a human with a very similar ideal." she said, "He believed benders were the cause of suffering in my world and that only those who were similar could be happy. Instead of bringing folks together, he only caused a war between friends and even families."

"But we don't have wars here." said Night Glider, "We never fight."

"No, you don't. But you also never learn anything new, not only about each other, but yourselves too. I'm sorry to say this but, you guys are in a rut and you don't even know it."

There was nothing they could say to counter her words. Was what they felt only false happiness? Deep down they always knew something was missing from their lives, they thought they had everything they could ever ask for. Only now, it seemed as if they had finally woken up and realized they have been empty all this time. Still, they were still unsure if to disobey their leader. They did not deny Korra's words, but they were not yet fully ready to leave their ways just yet.

"Maybe…maybe having our cutie marks back wouldn't be so bad." said Party Favor, "Even if it's just for a little bit."

The team smiled at this. The three ponies were coming round. Slowly, but they were coming around.

"You said that your marks are in a cave, right?" Twilight asked, "Can you take us there?"

"Only Starlight is allowed to take ponies there." said Night Glider.

"But you said you could visit them anytime you liked."

"Ever since that moment when our bending came back, she didn't allow ponies to go there alone. In case it was too dangerous."

Twilight and Korra shared confident looks and smiled at their new friends. "We're going to get your cutie marks back. I promise."

(~)

Latter that day, Starlight Glimmer lead team Avatar up to the hills of the desert near the village to where the cave was located. Double Diamond stood behind them, still smiling but they all knew he was just keeping and eye on them.

"I'm delighted you're interested in our cutie mark vault." said the upbeat unicorn as she eld the way, "We hope someday every pony in Equestria will make a pilgrimage here to our little village to have theirs removed too, and our message of perfectly equal friendship can finally spread across the land."

Flash Sentry spoke in a hushed tone to his girlfriend, "Please tell me you guys have a plan here."

"We do." Twilight responded in a hushed tone as well, "Once we get there, we'll be able to find out just how Starlight can remove cutie marks and maybe figure out how to give them back."

"I just hope we get this over with soon. I can't stand any more of Starlight's flirty stares." he shuddered.

"Remember, don't say anything about who told us about the vault. No doubt Starlight doesn't want any other pony unhappy with her perfect 'utopia'."

"Just through here!" Starlight led the group into a dark and spooky looking cave. Bolin gulped as they walked inside, the light of the sun was no longer seen or felt once they entered.

"Behold! Our cutie mark vault!"

The entire group gasped in shock! Standing before them was a tall glass-like container filled with all kinds of cutie mark symbols locked inside little square holes. The container itself illuminated the cave with a blue aura and in front of it stood what appeared to be some kind of wooden staff standing on a stone pedestal. Bolin's jaw dropped at the sight and Korra felt she would be sick. Seeing all of these cutie marks away from their owners was almost as repulsive as seeing a disembodied head or leg put on display. And just as the three ponies described, several of the marks had the elements circling around them.

"I've never seen anything like it!" Twilight said, feeling just as repulsed as Korra did.

Starlight approached the pedestal and levitated the staff with her magic, "And here is the Staff of Equality. It was one of the great mage Meadowbrook's nine enchanted items. We are incredibly fortunate to have it here."

At the mention of this Meadowbrook character, Twilight narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"This is the tool that allows us to free ourselves from our marks! I'm curious – how did the subject of the vault come up?"

"Oh, some ponies were telling us how much they missed their cutie marks, and—"

"Bolin!"

"Oops…" the earthbender quickly covered his mouth.

Starlight gasped, while still maintaining her cheerful demeanor, "Were they? Well, it seems you inspire all sorts of free thinking…don't you?" she narrowed her eyes when she said the last part of her sentence. It was clear that the heroes were going to need a plan B.

Rarity laughed nervously, "Well, w-we certainly didn't intend to cause any disruptions to your charming little—"

"Good. Let's just make sure of that, shall we?"

As Rarity backed away, she stumbled upon Double Diamond, and more of the happy smiling ponies emerged from the shadows, surrounding the team.

"It's a trap!" Mako exclaimed, already igniting his fire until Korra stopped him.

"No! We can't hurt them!"

Starlight shook her head in disappointment, "Honestly Korra, you should be grateful. Without your cutie mark, you don't have to stand out among your friends. Wouldn't that level the field for all of you?"

Korra narrowed her eyes and stood firm, "Your backwards mind games won't work on me, Starlight! You want everypony to be equal but this isn't equality! You're just tricking them into thinking exactly what you want so you can feel good about yourself!"

Starlight gasped, as did the other ponies. They then began to look at one another, silently asking if any of this was true. The unicorn's anger grew. "You know, that voice of yours is seriously starting to get on my nerves!"

Korra took her fighting stance, "I was about to tell you the same thing." using her magic, she began taking the staff away from Starlight.

The unicorn struggled to keep the staff away from her but Korra's magic was just as powerful, if not more. But it wouldn't be for very long.

Twilight zapped herself upwards and readied her magic to attack Starling. Seeing this, Starlight's horn glowed even stronger, causing the staff to glow as well. Suddenly, a beam came shooting out and hit both Korra and Twilight, keeping them both stiff and still while being levitated in mid air. They felt something tug on their flank and face, causing them pain. Their cutie marks were being removed!

They grunted as they tried to fight the magic, sweat dripping off their brows, but it was no use. Before anyone could so anything, their cutie marks were literally ripped right off of them. Twilight's glowed with magenta flames while Korra's had small bits of the four elements circling around it in a similar manner they circled around Vaatu when they tried to imprison him into the Tree of Time. The marks were levitated to the staff and Starlight launched the marks into the vault, entrapping them for good with the others. She smiled wickedly at her triumph.

Korra and Twilight fell to the ground, only to be caught by their boyfriends. Flash gasped, seeing Twilight now had gained an equal sign cutie mark. Korra gained the same one on her cheek.

Just as Starlight was about to use the staff on the rest of the Mane Six, Asami leaped up and kicked the staff away. It landed onto the ground and Bolin quickly snatched it up. "Ha! Score one for posable thumbs!'

However, the staff glowed once more and this time, Bolin felt something strange being ripped away from inside of him.

"Bolin!"

Asami rushed to try and get the staff away, but she too was caught in its grasp. The two teens cried out in pain as they felt something being ripped from inside of them. They soon lost the feeling in their legs and collapsed to the ground. Starlight levitated the staff back, which now contained two glowing objects within, one colored purple and the other green with rocks surrounding it. Starling smiled.

"Hmmm. The legends are true. Humans and ponies are more alike than they seem. That's a good thing, now even you can be more equal to your pony brothers and sisters.

"Give them back!" Flash exclaimed as he attempted to attack Starlight, only to be caught in the staff's magic as well.

The same rays hit Mako and the rest of the Mane Six. They grunted as their cutie marks were removed one by one and placed within the vault, with their respected elements within them as well. Mako's was a glowing orange orb with flames surrounding it. He fell to the ground once his powers, and talents, were literally stripped out of him. The Mane Six found that their flanks now had the same equal signs as the other ponies, even their colors were paler than before. The same went for the three humans and Avatar princess. They felt like something had been taken from them, and it was more painful than any physical wound.

"Aw. I don't blame you for what you tried to do here today." said Starlight, still trying to make the situation look more positive than it really was, "You've spent your whole lives thinking those marks are a good thing. Even you humans thought you were better with bending powers. Now you really can be the same."

Korra opened her mouth to shout, 'Give them back', but was shocked to discover nothing had come out. She gripped her neck, trying constantly to get any word out, but it was no use. She quickly realized a terrible reality. She lost her voice!

Not only was her magic and bending gone again, but now she couldn't even speak at all!

Starlight smiled while Korra looked on in distraught. "You won't keep filling my friends' heads with your twisted ideals anymore. 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!"

To be continued….

(~)

Comments

[Wildcard25]

Awesome opening