Foundations of Equality

by stupidhand14

Chapter 3: Removal

After a quick breakfast, Azure Moon returned to testing out the cutie mark removal spell. Before lunch came around, Double Diamond called for Azure to stop.

“Hey Azure, I need you to stop for a minute.” Double Diamond said.

“Why stop?” she asked, looking at the sun. She still had some time before they would be having lunch.

“I want you to test the spell on me, now,” Double Diamond answered, grabbing a jar from his saddlebags.

“What?!” Azure exclaimed in surprise. “Aren’t you afraid of getting hurt?”

“Doesn’t matter,” he replied simply. “We need you to perfect the spell, and I have faith in your abilities.” Double Diamond trotted a small distance away and put the jar between them. “Now, take my cutie mark.”

Azure eyed him for a few seconds before beginning to prepare the spell. She replicated her measurements from the last time she had performed the spell, then took another look at Double Diamond. Reducing the magic being supplied for the physical side of the spell slightly, she began to charge up her magic. She saw the magic forming around her horn in a small ring, going along the spirals.

Looking at the mayor of Our Town again, she cast the spell. The magic was pulled out of her, much more than she had anticipated. It gripped him and levitated him slightly, all the while he was grinning. Suddenly, Azure could sense something in her magic, something that wasn’t Double Diamond. Her vision began to fade as her whole mental focus was upon these new sensations.

It felt like a phantom inhabiting the body of Double Diamond, something that wasn’t him and yet connected. It resonated throughout his entire body, but especially in his hooves, eyes, and flank. Giving an experimental tug, Azure found that another force was acting on this spectre, which she assumed was the Cutie Mark, pushing it into her magic’s grasp. This force was unmistakably Double Diamond’s will.

Taking a deep breath, Azure pulled at the phantom, trying to remove it from Double Diamond. Even with both Azure and Double Diamond working on it, it refused to separate until, suddenly, the link between Double Diamond and it snapped. Azure’s vision returned into focus at the sound of a loud yell. Looking over to where Double Diamond was, she noticed he had been moved a couple of meters towards her, where the jar once was.

Her concentration now broken, the spell began to fall apart. Azure looked at what she had done, and saw that his Cutie Mark was floating in her magical grasp. Checking the status of her levitation and containment spell, she noticed that, without her constant focus, it had become unstable. Scrambling to reclaim the spell, Azure discovered it was too late. In a matter of seconds, what little containment was around it eroded enough to let the cutie mark fly back onto Double Diamond, the connection reforged.

“Double Diamond!” Azure shouted, galloping over to him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Double Diamond answered, his face still on the ground. “Just a few cuts.” Double Diamond rolled over to reveal a broken jar beneath him and cuts along his underside.

Azure grabbed Double Diamond’s forehoof and led him over to the camp. Double Diamond instructed her to bring him some bandages and water from his pack.

“I’ll need you to help me,” Double Diamond conceded after trying to bandage himself.

“What do I have to do?” Azure asked, moving over to him.

Azure followed his instruction and treated his injuries, washing and bandaging them. After they were done, Azure’s curiosity got the better of her.

“Where did you learn to give first aid?” She asked, as Double Diamond thought for a moment, a far away look clouding his eyes.

“My dad taught me when I was young… through experience.” Double Diamond flinched at the memory, finally remembering how he knew.

“What happened?” Azure pressed, wanting an answer.

“I’ll tell you the story later,” Double Diamond promised. “But, first, what went wrong?” He began to clean himself of the dirt in his coat and mane, trying to return order to it.

“I… got distracted,” Azure admitted. “When I saw you had fallen, possibly on broken glass, I got worried.”

“It’d take a lot more than a bit of glass to hurt me,” Double Diamond boasted, hoping to calm her. “Though, why did I levitate? Starlight’s spell didn’t levitate me before.”

Grabbing the letters from the saddlebags, Azure read over them again, and again. It was on the third read through that she saw a note saying that rather than using the magic completely for the removal, the caster had to keep some focus on keeping the pony on the ground.

After a brief laugh, and a tiny bit of teasing, Double Diamond called a break for lunch. The two ate, comparing notes and discussing how to improve Azure’s casting.

After lunch, Azure returned to testing on the rocks, not trusting herself to test on anypony for the time being. After retesting her spell, Azure came up with a new idea. She didn’t trust herself to use the spell on another pony, but if she used the spell on herself, nopony else would get hurt, right?

After making up an excuse to get away from Double Diamond, Azure hid behind a rocky outcrop and began to gather the energies for a spell. Turning her head towards her own flank, she cast her spell.

She once again felt the spectre, but this time it was different. Rather than her hooves radiating the strength, it was her horn, creating an almost loop between her power flowing out and returning to her body. Focusing on her adversary, Azure grabbed the spectre with an intent to remove it. However, this time, it was different.

Rather than the spirit being pushed from both sides, it felt as if it was being pulled back against the cutie mark removal spell. A wave of pain hit Azure, making her lose concentration for a second. As soon as she stopped pulling, the pain turned to a dull ache. Pain, it would seem, would have to be endured to become equal again.

Azure once again pulled at the magic, pain coursing through her once again. Suddenly, she stopped feeling the ground in front of her and quickly put a portion of her mind at work keeping herself grounded. Gritting her teeth, she returned the main of her mind to ripping out this ghost that plagued her.

Pulling with all her might, while still keeping herself grounded, took more effort and will than Azure had imagined. Having to fight another force and a will trying to keep the Cutie Mark’s power in her was taxing. The pain that came with it was excruciating, making her feel drained. After several minutes of constant pain and fighting, Azure felt a snap, and the pain suddenly stopped.

Opening her eyes again, not noticing she had closed them, she found the world was dulled. She could no longer see as well, the colors themselves were less vibrant. Searching inward again, her fears were confirmed: the reserves of magic she had were gone. What was once a reservoir of untapped energy was a small pool. Her Cutie Mark was the link to her power, she finally realized. Looking up, she saw her cutie mark, still held within her levitation spell.

Grinning, Azure trotted with a happy rhythm back to camp. Double Diamond looked up from the fire he was making and noticed Azure’s cutie mark floating ahead of her. Dropping everything, Double Diamond shot up like a spring.

“Look what I got!” Azure shouted as she drew near. “I did it!”

“You did it… that’s great!” Double Diamond shouted back. He waited for her to draw nearer before continuing. “Now, let it go back.”

“But…” Azure started.

“You have to get your Cutie Mark back,” Double Diamond commanded, authority entering his voice. Even when injured, he seemed to stand taller, straighter, and more threatening. “You have to have the magic to remove Cutie Marks, it is your duty.”

“But what if---”

“No ‘buts’!” Double Diamond’s voice raised, anger on the edge of it. “We are following Starlight’s plan. She said that you can’t remove a Cutie Mark too often, otherwise it makes it far harder and more dangerous. You are keeping your Cutie Mark, for the good of Our Town.” He waited for a response, which Azure was too frightened to give. He turned away and began to take care of his bags and bandages.

Azure let the levitation spell fall apart, her cutie mark returning to her. The feeling of its return felt similar and yet also stronger. After her eyes adjusted to the white flash that came with the mark, she once again saw the world in every shade. Somberly, she stood there, her thoughts brooding.

After several minutes of awkwardly standing around, Double Diamond returned to her.

“I’m… sorry,” he said, lamely. “I overreacted, and I apologize.” After no response, he looked her in the eyes. “Azure, I’m sorry, please forgive me?” Finally, Azure sighed.

“There’s nothing to forgive, we have true friendship. Something this small won’t break it.” Double Diamond grinned, though weather from the response or what it represented, Azure couldn’t tell.

“Now, can you remove my Cutie Mark?”

“No! I can’t,” Azure claimed, backing away the pain she endured scared her, so much so that she didn’t want to put Double Diamond through it too. “I hurt you last time, I can’t do it again!”

“Azure, listen to me,” Double Diamond commanded calmly. “You have to learn to do it on other ponies. Our Town is counting on you, all of our friends.” When he saw he wasn’t making any progress, Double Diamond changed tactics. “Why don’t you think about it tonight. Tomorrow, we can choose.”

The rest of the day was spent in relative peace, with the two simply talking. After a couple of hours, Azure remembered a promise Double Diamond had made: a story. After several requests, Double Diamond relented and told the story…

---

You have to understand, my family lived on the frontier, when there still was a northern frontier. We were one of the only families within a couple of miles, so we were practically alone out on our farm. On one Saturday, my mother and baby sister were off at market, and my dad had gone foraging. Well, at some point, I thought it was a great idea to go playing in the mountains.
The mountains were the only place with snow, something I used to love. I was always trying to ski when I was young, with my own hoofmade skis my father had helped me make. Anyway, I was there when I heard… something. It was a sound between a scream of pain and a growl. I turned and saw this strange creature. Fangs as long as a pony, and thrice as big. It was pure white, and I was certain I was going to be killed.
Since I wasn’t foolish enough to fight it, I tried to escape it. Using my skis, I went downhill as fast as I could, trying in any way to escape it. It was then that… that I got my Cutie Mark. Two blue snowflakes adorned my flank, and I looked at it, admiring them. That meant my eyes weren’t in front of me. My head hit a tree and I came to a stop.
I was dazed, but I looked up and saw the beast was getting closer. It was so close I could see the black in its eyes clearly, and again my death raced through my mind. It was mad, and wanted to toy with me a little. It swung a single clawed paw at me, sent me flying a few feet. It cut me, bad. The snow around me had turned a dark red.
As it got closer, I heard a familiar voice yell out, “Hey! You!”
The monster turned to the voice, as did I and it was my father, crossbow in hoof. Firing a bolt, he hit the creature straight in its side. It screamed and snarled, but it didn’t flee. Instead, it attacked my father, charging at him. The rest of the fight… I don’t remember. I fell unconscious.
I woke up at my house, bandages around my cuts. My father was sitting across from me, and he told me what happened, how he saw me on the mountain and decided to see how I was doing before heading back home. Thank the stars he did, otherwise I’d be dead right now.
After that, my father taught me how to stitch a cut, bandage a minor injury, and a few herbs to reduce pain.
I didn’t realize it then, but now I do. I was hurt and nearly died because of my cutie mark. It distracted me, nearly causing me to die.

---

After the story, the two were silent for some time. Double Diamond was reminiscing and Azure was thinking about his story. Before long, the mayor turned in for the night and Azure brought out the lamp and Starlight’s Journal again. After reading through some more pages, Azure had an idea: notes. Though these were Starlight’s journals, it would be good to make a note on any particularly insightful passages.The part she marked up: I can’t trust anypony to understand my entire plan, only I can understand what I must do. If that means tricking my own friends to make preparations for a future plan, so be it.

Author's Note:

Weekly update is in. I don't know how long I'll keep this up for, but I will do so for as long as I can. Sorry for the slightly shorter chapter this time, I'll make it up... eventually.

Remember, Criticism is welcome.

Comments

[Mix-up]

This was en interesting back story for Double Diamond, I like the idea that he feed distracted by the appearance of his cutie mark during his escape from the creature and he decided to turn the usually positive experience into a bad one. I think it was a good idea for Azure to practice on rock and that the spell itself is not easy to master. I now get it that a ponies magic is directly linked to their cutie, and my be even part of their identity and that the magic potential of a pony is drastically limited if they don't have. I understand that the spell demands a lot of magic that a equal marked unicorn simply can't provide, but what if a large number unicorns actually conducted the spell at the same time, or even better if the Earth Ponies and the Pegasi could also somehow help provide the necessary magic to do it? I would still think that they would need a conductor to do the spell but it is possible. If that was possible then Azure wold have found a way to respect the equalize philosophy of Starlight Glimmer in a way that she couldn't. A wander what happen to Party Favor and Sugar Bell during those ten years.