Chapter 2: The Cutie Map, Part 2
*Main theme*
Back in Starlight's village, the Mane seven had been imprisoned against their will inside one of the houses. Starlight had set up this particular house for...converting non-believers to the cause by wearing them down. Starlight has also recorded a little voiceover that played continuously inside the room.
"Free yourself from your cutie mark," said the speaker set up high above the room, "Choose equality as your special talent." Meanwhile, Rainbow was trying to press against the door in a feeble attempt to open it and escape.
"Difference is frustration," the speaker continued, "To excel is to fail." Rainbow grunted angrily before she slumped to the floor in defeat.
"Hey, this is pretty good!" said Pinkie as she showed them a book that had nothing but black equal signs inside pretty much every single page.
"Be your best by never being your best," said the speaker.
"Ugh, we've gotta find a way out of here!" said Twilight as she and Applejack paced about the small room, "I can't take much more of that voice!"
The bag that had Chase was on the ground with them away from the girls.
"What are we going to do? We can't do it without Chase." Rarity said with concern. "The poor darling hasn't said a word since we got locked up in here while he was in the bag."
"Can you blame him?" Pinkie remarked, "Starlight really hit Chase where it hurts! And we don't even know what Starlight did to him!"
That's when the bag stirred up a bit, which the girls took notice of it. That might mean Chase was waking up.
"Chase?" Twilight asked her husband gently. "Honey, are you okay?"
The hole of the bag open up and Chase popped his head out. It revealed he was an alicorn foal, much to the surprise of the rest of the Mane Seven.
"Man, that magic blast stung a bit!" Chase said, which sounded like a ten year old. He turns his attention to the girls, who were really shocked by this as he marched up to them with a glare. "I told you guys we shouldn't haven't come here to trust these ponies! And if you had just listened-!"
That's when he noticed their shocked faces as they had their mouths opened and their eyes wide, which left him confused.
"What?" Chase asked, curiously.
But he noticed his left wing was so small and widen his eyes as his left eye twitched a bit before…
"AAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!" Chase screamed at the top of his lungs in horror along with laying on his stomach and pounding the ground with his front hooves while the six girls covered their ears tightly from the screaming.
"Alright, honey! Take it easy!" Twilight said to her now ten year old husband while he kept screaming before he straightened himself.
"Okay! Okay!" Chase said, trying to regain his focus. "I'm fine, I'm fine."
Then he noticed how small his front hooves were.
"Huh?!" Chase said in shock before he went to grab a mirror.
"No!/Chase!/Don't look in the mirror!/ Don't do it!" Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity shouted with plea, not wanting things to get ugly.
But it was too late as Chase looked at himself in the mirror as he gasped in shock to see he was a ten year old alicorn foal. Then he looked at his tail and wagged his tail a bit.
Then a view was shown in the village and…
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Chase's scream was heard as the landscape shook with a little vibration as dragons heard it with confused looks.
"Alright! Alright, honey! Will you settle down?! Settle-" Twilight shouted as she and her friends tried to sooth Chase down which was easier said than done as he kept screaming and panting in his foal form.
"Chase! I think you've-!" Rainbow tried.
"Big brother, that's-!" Fluttershy tried as well.
"Chase! Dar-" Rarity tried too.
"Calm down, sugar-!" Applejack tried as well.
But it was still no avail as Chase flopped on his back in panic before he ran away from the group as he kept screaming in horror.
"This isn't gonna work." Twilight said tiredly as she placed a wing to her face.
Chase continued to scream in panic when…
SLAP!
"OW!" Chase yelped as he whipped his head to the side and placed a hoof to his now stinging cheek.
"Are you feeling better now, sweetie?" Twilight asked her ten year old husband with a gentle look. She was the one who slapped him in the face.
"Thanks, honey." Chase said as he rubbed his cheek.
Then…
"AAUGH!" Chase screamed before he grabbed Twilight by the face as he clung onto her. "WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO ME?! I'M AN ALICORN FOAL!"
"Oh, um, Starlight must've performed an age spell on you." Twilight theorized.
"SHE WHAT?!" Chase asked in shock. "She-she shrank me?!"
"Yeah." Rainbow Dash said, meekly.
"Catches on quickly, doesn't it." Pinkie added.
Chase moaned in depression as he sat on his rear end.
"What am I gonna do now?!" Chase asked worriedly. "I can't go outside looking like this!"
He pointed a feather tip at himself.
"Honey, just remember. You may be small, but you are more special in your true form." Twilight said to her stressed out husband.
"Oh, this is horrible!" Rarity sobbed quietly as Fluttershy walked up to her.
"There, there, Rarity..." said Fluttershy gently as she patted the marshmallow mares back, "It's not so bad..."
"Yes, it is!" Rarity retorted as she pointed to some gray and poor quality drapes by a window, "Look at those drapes! I have no idea if they're tacky or not!"
"Well, I think they're nice," said Fluttershy plainly. Rarity's equal mark then pulsed, which made her whimper and her tears fell a little faster.
"So do it!" Rarity bawled.
Chase looked at Fluttershy annoyed. Fluttershy just backed away nervously until she noticed a magenta bird nearby.
"Oh, thank goodness!" said Fluttershy as she walked up to the bird, "Can you help us, little birdie?" The bird tweeted in reply and Fluttershy's equal sign pulsed making her give the bird a puzzled look for a moment.
"Go on, now!" Fluttershy said confidently, "Fly away and get us help!" The bird just tilted his head and tweeted again.
"Oh, even tweets don't make sense any more!" Fluttershy said sadly as the bird flew away.
Rainbow just slumped against the door sadly until she heard Applejack charging for the door and hovered out of the way as Applejack tried to do a hard buck to the door. But the magic of the equal cutie mark had weakened her natural Earth Pony strength and caused the orange mare to fall onto her stomach.
"This door's shut tighter than a...summer of..." Applejack stuttered as her equal sign pulsed as Rainbow hovered behind her, "uh, piglets in..." Applejack swiped a fore-hoof sideways, "...shoot! I can't even make countryisms no more!"
"I don't know! Maybe it'll be super fun to be all the same!" said Pinkie cheerfully until her equal sign pulsed and she said rather bluntly, "Sort of. More pleasant than fun, I guess..." Pinkie just turned away and sat down quietly to keep reading.
"Something odd about that staff," said Twilight as she walked past Rarity, who was sitting on the floor, "I haven't studied Eastern unicorns as much as I should have, but I'm pretty sure Meadowbrook only had eight magical items, not nine. And I don't remember any of them. What about you, honey?"
"I don't know." Chase responded back as he rose back up on all four legs. "But I think Starlight is probably hiding something else in her house that maybe she doesn't want any of us to find out."
Then Twilight widened her eyes in surprise when she noticed something on Chase's left flank.
"Wait, honey!" Twilight shouted in surprise. "Your flank! Look at your flank!"
Chase was confused before he looked to see on his flank made him widened his eyes in surprise. He still had his cutie mark on it.
"Wait! My cutie mark!" Chase said in surprise. "It's still there!"
The others were surprise by this.
"Why would she let you have it?" Rainbow Dash asked in confusion.
"I don't know." Chase said, equally confused. "Maybe she has something sinister to have her eyes on it."
"Do you think you can use your magic to get us out of here?" Twilight asked her ten year old husband, hopefully.
Chase tried to lighten his horn, but it didn't spark up a bit.
"I can't. My magic is not strong enough." Chase responded back. "Starlight probably knows all of my skills too. At this age, I can't perform that much magic."
This made the others grown in frustration.
"Well, it look like you'll have plenty of time to try to think about it," said Applejack to Twilight as she lay on the floor on her back and put her stenson hat over her face. Everypony else had pretty much taken to the outer edges of the room.
"...Choose equality as your special talent," the Speaker continued, "Difference is frustration. To excel is to fail. Be your best by never being your best. Conformity will set you free. Accept your limitations, and happiness will follow. You're better than your friends…"
As the speaker continued its endless speech, the Mane seven started shuffling about the room. It was clear as day that the girls were all feeling bored. Twilight continued to pace about. Pinkie kept reading the books. Rainbow sat around looking bored. Chase was trying to think.
Twilight just sighed to herself. Later on, Applejack was just playing around with her stenson hat. Eventually, Twilight's pacing got more determined as her face showed that she was putting all her energy trying to focus and tune out Starlight's endless speech.
(Scene changes)
By nightfall, everypony was fast asleep as Twilight sat in the middle of the room, still trying to think. By the time, the sun had risen in the sky, Twilight had her fore-hooves over her head, then was grinding her teeth, and just when she felt like a bad headache was coming on...
"I've got it!" Twilight exclaimed, making everypony around her wake up and shouted exclamations of surprise.
"What is it, sweetie?" Chase asked his wife in surprise.
"I know how we can get out!" said Twilight. Rainbow sighed sadly.
"Forget it, Twilight," said Rainbow as Applejack stood up, "This door's not opening."
"And I'm afraid the windows are much too small for escape," Rarity added.
"But there is a third way," said Twilight, getting the subject back on track.
"Of course!" said Pinkie eagerly as she stood amongst a giant pile of books with equal marks inside of the pages, "Eventually the wind and the weather will wear down the walls until they start to crumble! Then all we have to do is wait for a big enough hole to form and we can just walk out! It's the perfect plan!" Pinkie's equal sign pulsed, nuking her cheery demeanor.
"I guess," said Pinkie drearily.
"We don't actually have to escape," said Twilight with a sly smirk on her face, "They'll just let us out when they think we've accepted their philosophy!"
"But they're never gonna believe we switched over in just one night," Applejack pointed out.
"There's one of us they might believe," said Twilight as she looked over to...Fluttershy. The yellow Pegasus turned to see everypony looking at her. Twilight had a devious smirk on her face.
"What?" Chase asked in shock.
The others gave Fluttershy smiled, especially Pinkie who stuck her face in front of everypony else and smiled widely.
"Oh! Me?!" Fluttershy spluttered, making her wings open in surprise.
"You've been saying how great this place is since we got here!" Rainbow retorted sternly.
"But that's because everypony's so nice and their village is so pretty and, and..." Fluttershy protested and began to see why the others picked her. She lowered her head in defeat, "Oh, you're right. They probably would believe me. I hate to lie to them. They've been so welcoming and friendly...aside from locking us in here and trying to brainwash us into abandoning the things that make us special..."
"Fluttershy, what I said that I can't go out looking like this now, it doesn't matter if we are special or not." Chase said to her with a determined look. "If we're gonna get out of here, we have to follow what those ponies are doing out there. It's the only way we can get our cutie marks back."
Fluttershy just blinked before a stern look crossed her face.
"Okay," said Fluttershy, "I'll do it!"
"Woo-hoo!" Pinkie cheered and jumped into the air. Then her equal cutie mark neutralized her again, "I mean, cool."
"But what do I do once I'm out?" Fluttershy asked as she walked up to Twilight.
"You gotta find a way to get our cutie marks back," Twilight told Fluttershy. Fluttershy gulped nervously when Twilight pulled her aside.
"Also," said Twilight, "I need you to take Chase with you."
That surprised Chase.
"Me? But why?" Chase asked in surprise.
"Honey, you are the greatest master to have mastered every martial arts skill with not just your powers, but with your heart as well." Twilight answered her husband. "And you're the only one who can sneak past everything insight while sticking to the shadows as well. Will you do it?"
Chase looked at his wife with a look of thought as he turned to see the rest of their friends giving him pleading looks. Then he gave a fierce determined look.
"If it's to stop Starlight once and for all, then I'll do it." Chase said confidently.
The others cheered for him before they heard the screeching of the loudspeaker above them.
"Oh, good morning!" said Starlight from the loudspeaker. Then the door opened to show the lilac unicorn herself with her over the top smile on her face.
"I trust you had a pleasant night?" Starlight asked in a tone that was anything but sweet.
"Not really," Twilight remarked, "look what you did to my husband!" Chase stood beside her with an angry look on his face.
Starlight just smirked and said nothing.
"This way, please," said Starlight as she exited the room, "There are some friends who'd like to see you." All glared at her, but then the seven friends shared smiles with each other.
"Gather around, friends, gather round!" said Starlight as the other villagers arrived before the Mane seven, "We've come to ask if any of you are ready to join us! There are so many friends to be made once you realize you don't need your cutie marks or the talents that come with them."
All the girls and Chase but Fluttershy glared.
"Just look at this pathetic fool," said Starlight as she started to showcase Chase. He just stood there glaring at Starlight. "Looks like he got what he deserved for not liking the village. Shame on you, young man."
The rest of the Mane seven glared at her bitterly for openly degrading Chase like that.
"We have a welcome ceremony for new friends!" said Double Diamond as the rest of the villagers stared at them with their over the top smiles, "The whole village joins together to build you your own cottage-"
"Not interested!" Rainbow interrupted sternly as Pinkie and Applejack gave the villagers stern looks, "You may have them now, but we're going to get our cutie marks back!"
"Y'all don't understand, do ya?" Applejack added, "You can't force nopony to be friends! It don't work like that!"
"And we'd appreciate it if you'd stop mocking Chase!" Pinkie added.
"Is it my fault that he didn't appreciate my way for cutie marks made him a loser as well as a child?" Starlight asked innocently.
"More like you're the big fat loser, Starbright!" Chase retorted, making Starlight stop as she turned to glare at him.
"Please, join us!" a pony named Sunny Song asked.
"We love new friends!" a pony named Rosemary added.
"It's all right, everypony," said Starlight as she turned to face the other villagers, "This is perfectly normal part of the equalization process for those who haven't...quite seen the light yet."
"You call what happened to Chase part of the equalization process?!" Twilight exclaimed in disbelief. Starlight just shrugged her shoulders arrogantly.
"We'll try again tomorrow once you've had a bit more time to consider our philosophy!" Starlight told the villagers and then faced the Mane seven.
They were quickly ushered, or rather "welcomed" back into their little prison hold. Twilight then stopped moving and exchange a look with Fluttershy and Chase.
"Chase and I would like to join!" Fluttershy blurted out and then covered her mouth in shock. The other villagers looked stunned and then chattered excitedly. Starlight seemed rather pleased.
"Fluttershy?" said Twilight, pretending to feel betrayed, "How could you?! You can't take my husband away!"
"If giving up my cutie mark means I get to stay in this lovely village with these lovely ponies," Fluttershy said firmly and then rushed and pulled Chase next to her. "And it means I get my brother back, then I'll do it! You're clearly not doing him any favors."
While Twilight knew Fluttershy was just acting, that last sentence really stung her heart. Fluttershy exchanged a smile with Starlight as Twilight gave both mares a dirty glare. Starlight then shut the door once Twilight was back inside.
"We have two new friends, everypony!" Starlight announced. The villagers gasped and surrounded Fluttershy and Chase. Fluttershy smiled with Chase.
Then the villagers broke away as Starlight approached from behind the two ponies.
"Now, there's one more order of business," said Starlight as she wrapped a fore-hoof around Fluttershy and said rather dramatically, "it seems some in our midst might be...dissatisfied with the village life!" The villagers gasped.
"Unfortunately, it's all too true, my friends!" Starlight continued as Fluttershy looked nervously to the sides. Starlight then got into the yellow Pegasus's face since she figured asking Chase would be pointless, "Will you kindly tell us the names of those friends who so desperately miss their cutie marks that they would sneak around in the shadows talking to strangers about it?"
Sugar Belle, Night Glider, and Party Favor exchanged nervous looks before trying to smile innocently.
"Just so we can be sure your intentions are indeed pure," said Starlight as she stared Fluttershy down.
The yellow Pegasus gulped until she felt some pony place a hoof on her shoulder. She looked down to see Young Chase looking at her with a nod.
Fluttershy nodded back.
"Um, we don't know who they were," said Fluttershy shakily. "Um, I'm sorry. We don't know your names and faces yet." Starlight clearly didn't believe her.
"Nonsense!" Starlight replied, "Obviously these ponies must have asked you directly. Kindly point them out."
Chase facepalmed himself in annoyance. Sugar Belle, Night Glider, and Party Favor shared worried looks. Party Favor looked at Sugar Belle and Party Favor before a determined look appeared in his face. Poor Fluttershy was getting stared down.
"It was me!" Party Favor shouted, surprising everypony else. The crowd parted to let Party Favor approach Starlight, leaving Sugar Belle and Night Glider stunned, "It was only me! But I only wanted it back for a little while!" He knelt before Starlight to plead for mercy.
"And you're quite certain it was only you?" Starlight asked as she lifted Party Favor's chin so they were making direct eye contact.
"I just wanted to remember what it was like," Party Favor said sadly but as honestly as he could.
"And no thought to the pain you'd cause your friends," Starlight said dramatically, making Party Favor sink to the ground, "Such selfishness!" Some other villagers gave Party Favor dirty looks.
"I'm sorry everypony!" said Party Favor as he was put into the room with the rest of the Mane seven, Fluttershy watched worriedly, Starlight smirked, and Chase glared at Starlight. "I never wanted to leave the village! I love all of-"
SLAM!
Party Favor got the door slammed in his face before he could finish. Night Glider and Sugar Belle shared worried and guilty looks with each other.
"What was I thinking?!" Party Favor lamented as he stuck his horn into the door, "I can't believe I even considered asking for my cutie mark back."
"Don't worry," said Rainbow confidently, "Fluttershy will have us out of here in no time!"
"Don't y'all mean Fluttershy and Chase?" Applejack asked. Rainbow blinked.
"Do you really think Chase of all ponies is gonna help us?" Rainbow asked, getting fierce glares from all the other girls, making her wince, "I...I...I didn't mean he can't. It's just..."
"Just what..." said Twilight, clearly offended, "Just because he is just little that he's completely worthless?!" Rainbow bit her lip.
"I...I was concerned about the fact he's just a kid." Rainbow said honestly. Twilight just snorted.
"Fluttershy said she'd help Chase, then together, they'll get us out of here," Twilight said firmly.
"Didn't you see what just happened out there?!" Party Favor said in a panic, "Your friends have accepted our way! You will all accept our way! It's only a matter of time!" Party Favor nearly started crying before he recomposed himself and sat on the floor in defeat.
"This guy's a barrel of laughs," Rainbow muttered to the others.
"Laughs don't come in barrels," said Pinkie so flatly she could have been mistake for Maud, "They come from inside you as your body's response to delight." The group just gave Pinkie funny looks for a moment.
"So what are we gonna do while Fluttershy, and hopefully Chase too, are out there looking for our," Applejack then lowered her voice to a whisper, "cutie marks?"
"We have to stay positive as we can," Twilight told the others, "If Party Favor sees how much we really do like each other even though we're all different, maybe we can use him to spread our message to the rest of the village." The others smiled in agreement until they heard the loudspeaker crackle.
"To excel is to fail," said the speaker as the same speech began all over again.
"Let's hope they don't convert any of us first," said Rarity as the other girls shared worried looks of agreement.
(Scene changes)
Back outside, several ponies stood in line giving Fluttershy and Chase their over the top smiles.
"Welcome!" said a pony named Rocky Storm.
"Welcome!" said another Pegasus mare.
"Welcome!" said another unicorn stallion.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Chase repeated, pretending to be like the villagers.
"Gosh, you really are the nicest ponies my brother and I have ever met!" said Fluttershy. Chase nodded in agreement.
"Come," said Starlight, as she led the two "Siblings" to her cottage, "All new friends stay with me until their cottage is completed. Let's get you settled, and then you can enjoy all that our little village has to offer."
Fluttershy and Chase looked back to see both Sugar Belle and Night Glider smiling and waving at them.
Chase glared at Starlight as Fluttershy looked worried until they noticed Starlight looking at them skeptically. Fluttershy and Chase just smiled sheepishly and followed the lilac unicorn inside. Starlight smirked deviously before shutting the door.
(Scene changes)
Later that night when Starlight was busy downstairs. Fluttershy was just sitting quietly in the guest bedroom. Unfortunately there was only one room available so she and Young Chase were once against stuck in the same room. Starlight was still making an effort to degrade Young Chase as she set down newspapers on the floor and declared it his bed, which Chase was scowling angrily.
"Chase, are you ready?" Fluttershy asked the younger alicorn stallion.
Chase got over his glare and looked at Fluttershy.
"Yeah. I'm ready." Chase said as they walked off screen somewhere else.
(Scene changes)
It wasn't long before some rumbling was heard and Fluttershy popped out of the cottage chimney, coughing and spluttering while covered in soot.
"Brrrrrrr!" Fluttershy babbled as she shook her head to get the soot off her face and mane and then sighed.
"Get the cutie marks back," said Fluttershy nervously to herself, "That's all we gotta do, Fluttershy. Just sneak through the dark up to that spooky old cave with the scary magical staff and get the cutie marks back."
"I'm happy you understand the plan, Fluttershy," said Chase from underneath the yellow Pegasus. "But please get out cause I need to help too!"
Fluttershy yelped as she jumped out and used her wings to hover down and help Chase flew out of the chimney. He coughed a bit before shaking the soot off of himself.
"Thanks Sis," said Chase quietly before he glared as he hovered in the air, "This stupid equality magic is going to make everything worse for the ponies in this village. I'm just glad it certainly wasn't doing its job making sure I couldn't learn how to climb chimneys! How does Santa Hooves do this thousands of times in just one night?"
"We can discuss that later," said Fluttershy, "think you can hover without a problem?"
"I hope so," said Chase.
He and Fluttershy then hovered away while the young alicorn flew off screen without a problem.
"Okay, you're doing great," Fluttershy told herself nervously as she slowly moved forward, "The cave's gotta be close now..."
"Uh, Sis," said Chase softly as the view zoomed out to show Fluttershy was still on the rooftop, while Chase hovered in mid air away from her. "You've only moved ten feet." Fluttershy glared when they heard a familiar voice that made both of them flinch.
"Excellent work, Double Diamond," said Starlight as Fluttershy and Chase peeked from the rooftop to see what was going on. They noticed that Double Diamond had brought a crate filled with jars.
"Of course," said Double Diamond as Starlight picked up the box with her magic and Double Diamond spoke as he walked inside the cottage, "but I don't understand why you wanted me to bring them here. Fluttershy and Chase are one of us now. Surely they can be trusted."
"This belong's to a princess," said Starlight as she held two jars that had Twilight's cutie mark inside, "It could be very important to our cause." Chase and Fluttershy watched the conversation from outside the window.
"But if Twilight Sparkle becomes our friend, then why do we care about this old cutie mark? Chase's clearly joined us and still has his. Also he's a kid. Why?" Double Diamond asked as Starlight carried the crate and Twilight's cutie mark.
"I just want to keep them close until everything is...settled. I just want bring Chase in his puny form to my 'new friend'." said Starlight, leaving Double Diamond stunned, "You may go, Double Diamond."
The white stallion walked away without another word and let the door shut behind him. He couldn't help but feel a little uneasy about Starlight holding into the cutie marks of the rest of the Mane seven. Fluttershy and Chase dashed behind the cottage wall just in time to avoid being spotted. They watched as Double Diamond walked back to his own cottage.
"Gotta hand it to Starlight," Chase whispered as he and Fluttershy continued to watch Starlight from the window, "She's smart enough to think one step ahead of us."
"Oh, dear," said Fluttershy as Starlight disappeared upstairs, "how are we ever going to get the cutie marks back now?"
"I don't know," said Chase quietly, "But we can't give up! There has to be something that we can-"
CRASH!
"Ow!" Starlight yelped.
Fluttershy and Chase looked up, exchanged nods and quickly and carefully hovered up to a second floor window. The two ponies noticed a bucket rolling across the floor and Starlight was partially wet.
"Ugh! Starlight, you clumsy foal!" the lilac unicorn scolded to herself as she set all seven cutie mark jars on top of a dresser drawer and grabbed a nearby towel.
She quickly dried herself off and, to Fluttershy and Chase's shock, they found that Starlight's equality cutie mark was a fake! Fluttershy and Chase's jaws hung open as Starlight used some makeup to cover up her real cutie mark and paint on a new equal sign.
Then a chiming sound was heard on her amethyst and used her magic to answer it. Chase and Fluttershy were confused as they watched carefully. Then in the form of the mist appeared Zhao. This shocked the two.
"Oh no! It's Zhao." Chase said in horror.
"You may speak to me now, Starlight." Zhao said in a stern tone.
"I have everything ready, master Zhao." Starlight reported. "I have all of the cutie marks for you to have so you can get the power from them. I left Chase out of it. Along with that, this potion I made for you will help you rebuild your army once more."
As she said that, she holds up a pink potion for the master.
"Good. Now, I want all of the cutie marks by tomorrow morning." Zhao said firmly. "But I still need more power in my possession if I am to have Equestria for myself."
"I told you that I'll bring Chase to you by tomorrow morning too." Starlight insisted. "I'll take him with me to you as promised."
"A deal is of no value if you can't deliver, Starlight Glimmer." Zhao said sternly. "I grow impatient with my army failing me. Give me the cutie marks and Chase soon or I will have yours to begin my invasion."
With that said, Zhao disappeared as the smoke returned back into the amethyst crystal.
"GASP!" Fluttershy and Chase gasped loudly, which caught Starlight's attention.
She turned around quickly and looked out of her window, but Fluttershy and Chase hid themselves just in time underneath a balcony. They waited until they heard Starlight to walk away and turn her light off before getting out of their hiding place.
"Oh no..." said Fluttershy.
"Alright, go back with the others and tell them what happened. I can handle this on my own." Chase said softly.
"But what about you, Chase?" Fluttershy asked with concern.
"Don't worry. I'm gonna see if that potion can help me return back to normal." Chase assured Fluttershy.
The yellow pegasus looked a little uneasy at the moment before she headed over to the room where the others were still captive.
Chase quietly made his way into the house through the chimney and quietly opened the door to see that Starlight was fast asleep.
He quietly walked over to the potion and took it before he noticed some fruit punch by the otherside. He smirked as he got an idea.
(Scene changes)
The next morning, Starlight had gathered the village once again as the rest of the Mane seven were led out of the prison room. Unlike last time, the five girls looked rather glum.
"I've got a good feeling about today!" said Starlight optimistically as Fluttershy stood beside her. Starlight didn't notice that Chase was missing. Fluttershy told her that he wanted to spend some time alone in the house. "So, do any of you have anything to say?" Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie just looked glum and worried. Twilight just remained composed and firm while Rainbow scoffed at Starlight and looked away bitterly.
"Aw, pity," Starlight remarked, "Well, let's try this again tomorrow, shall we?" She gave Fluttershy a smirk, which the yellow pegasus just smiled to keep Starlight's attention off of them.
"No new friends today, I'm afraid!" Starlight told the villagers as the rest of the Mane seven headed back to their room.
"Wait!" said Fluttershy, "I'd like to lock them in." Starlight blinked for a moment and then smiled.
"Marvelous, Fluttershy!" Starlight replied, clearly impressed as Fluttershy smiled bravely, "That's the spirit! Party Favor, will you join us please?" Party Favor wasted no time running out of the room as Fluttershy guided the Mane seven into the room.
"I'm sorry, Starlight," said Party Favor dramatically as he hugged one of Starlight's fore-legs, "I'm sorry, everypony! I've seen the error of my ways! I never want to look at my cutie mark again!"
"It seems there's a cause for celebration after all!" Starlight announced to the villagers.
"Hooray!" the villagers cheered excitedly.
"They tried to break me!" said Party Favor, "They wouldn't stop talking about how different they are, and that somehow makes their friendship stronger!"
"Such backwards thinking," Starlight replied to Party Favor's statements.
"But I didn't listen!" said Party Favor proudly as she stood up, "I knew what they were up to, and I didn't listen!" He then smiled widely.
"Well done, Party Favor!" said Starlight, "We welcome you back with open hooves!"
"Um, Starlight?" Fluttershy called out from outside the main room, "I think we might have one more friend joining us today." The crowd gasped when they saw Twilight walk out of the room.
"Is this true?" Starlight asked skeptically.
"I-I think so," said Twilight slowly, feeling a bit unsure, "But I just want to be sure. If I agree to leave my cutie mark in the vault, I'll really be happier?"
"Just look around," said Starlight, "Equality has given us more happiness than you've ever known! Just look at your husband! He was nothing, but now he's a winner because he knows being the same means everypony wins. Now he's just a kid."
"And you wouldn't let me just live here in the village with my old cutie mark?" Twilight asked as she lifted her wings and looked at her equal sign.
"Out of the question," said Starlight, "A pony with a different cutie mark in our midst would destroy our entire philosophy. We are all equal here!" The villagers all muttered in agreement.
"Then how do you explain this?!" Fluttershy interjected as she hovered into the air and tossed some water from a bucket at Starlight. But Starlight jumped out of the way.
"I knew you couldn't be trusted!" said Starlight.
Party Favor than noticed that Starlight hadn't completely missed the water and a drop has removed some of the equal sign makeup on the unicorn's flank. He boldly walked up to Starlight and wiped the cutie mark off clean.
"No! Get away!" Starlight protested. The crowd then gasped. Starlight then looked to see that the entire village could see her true cutie mark and winced as she used her tail to cover it up.
"Wha...what are you looking at?!" Starlight said nervously, "They're the problem, not me!" Twilight glared as the rest of the Mane seven stood by her. She gave them all a smirk.
"Oh yeah?" A new voice came from behind Starlight as she turned around, only to be punched in the face by some pony else.
She got back up on her feet and quickly turned to see Chase Young now back to being an adult. He even has his katana swords strapped to his side.
"Hi, Starlight. Missed me?" Chase asked with a smirk.
"You?!" Starlight shouted in rage. "You were a kid! I performed an age spell on you!"
"Yeah? Well I got the potion you made last night." Chase said as he used his magic to make summon the vial in his magic grasp, now empty as Starlight gasped before she glared at him angrily.
"How could you?" Party Favor asked, looking hurt and betrayed.
"You said cutie marks were evil!" Double Diamond added, "You said special talents led to pain and heartache!"
"They do!" Starlight protested, "Don't you see?! Look at them!"
Unfortunately, none of the villagers did.
"Then why?" Sugar Belle asked as she walked up to the unicorn, "Why did you take ours and not give up your own?"
"I...I had to, you fools!" said Starlight, no longer showing any remorse about getting caught, "How could I collect your cutie marks without magic?"
"But the staff has all the magic we need!" Night Glider protested.
"The staff is a piece of wood I found in the desert!" Starlight admitted as she got into the Pegasus's face, "It's my magic that makes all this possible! You'd all still be living your miserable lives thinking you're better than everypony else if it weren't for my magical abilities! I brought you friendship! I brought you equality! I created harmony!" Starlight didn't resist getting into the face of a pony or two before shouting at the villagers.
"You're wrong, Starlight," said Chase, sternly.
Starlight was taken aback as she turned to see Chase glaring at her.
"You've been nothing more than a fool! A liar!" Chase said angrily. "This is just misery you placed on the ponies here!"
Starlight snarled at him angrily as she glared at him.
"I want you to know that I appreciate your intentions, but you can't change the village like this!" Chase continued. "This is just a dead end for us to have. So I'm gonna give you one chance to just give the cutie marks back to the ponies, walk away, and stop this tyranny nonsense."
That last word stung her.
"Okay, Chase." Starlight said with a snarl. "Time to teach you a lesson."
Using her magic, she summoned some chains and twirled one of them in her magic. Chase smirked at this.
"Look, trust me when I tell you, Starlight." Chase said calmly with a smile before he glared at her. "You don't wanna do this."
Starlight didn't listen as she charged straight at Chase as she tried to crack the wipe of the chains at him, but Chase dodged them.
"Ohohoh, yeah!" Chase said taunting Starlight as he lit his horn, stood on his hind legs as aura hands appeared on his forelegs and got into a fighting stance. "Well, I noticed you got quite a temper."
Starlight whipped the chains at Chase, but he back flipped away from them.
"Hey, have you ever done this before?" Chase asked with a smirk.
This time Starlight lost her patience as well as her temper and whipped the chains forward at Chase with a yell, but Chase took out his katana swords, slicing the chains.
"Oh, come on!" Chase smirked. "You call that an attack?"
Starlight yelled angrily as she fired a beam of magic at Chase, only for him to fly upwards as Starlight hit a rock, making it explode.
Chase landed a few inches behind Starlight, making her turn around to see him smirking at her as he placed his katana swords into his slots. This time, Starlight had enough and got on the offense.
"Oh, alright! Finally, some excitement!" Chase said as he got into a fighting stance.
Starlight yelled as she charged straight at Chase and tried to punch him, but Chase proved to be too quick for her as he jumped into mid air, quickly spin kicking her in the face. Starlight tried again, but Chase blocked one of her punches, and punched her in the face again as she grunted in pain.
Chase mockingly beckoned her to come and get more. Starlight charged straight at Chase as she tried to punch him multiple times, but the alicorn master blocked everyone of them.
"Funny thing about anger." Chase began while blocking everyone of Starlight's punches. "Let it consume you. And soon enough…"
Chase jumped into the air as Starlight tried to punch him, but missed again. She looked around desperately finding Chase, but he was nowhere to be found. Then he somehow reappeared behind the unicorn mare.
"You lose sight of everything." Chase said, making Starlight widened her eyes in surprise before she turned around to face Chase, only to get uppercut punched to the chin by Chase as she was flown into the air and landed on the ground on her stomach as she grunted in pain.
The villagers cheered for him as Twilight and the others did the same for Chase. Chase and Twilight hug each other lovingly as they share a loving nuzzle.
"I'm proud of you, honey." Twilight said to her husband with a proud smile.
"Well, I do have my moments." Chase joked as Twilight giggled in amusement.
"So what?" said Starlight dismissively as she got back on her hooves, "E-everything else I said is true! The only way to be happy is if we're all equal." The villagers glared at her.
"Except for you," Party Favor called out as Starlight snarled in rage once more and lit up her horn, ready to charge up a new magic blast.
"Everypony has unique talents and gifts," said Twilight, making Starlight break her concentration again, "and when we share them with each other, that's how rea-"
"QUIET!" Starlight bellowed in rage, making Twilight flinch back.
"Hey!" Chase shouted in rage at Starlight, "Don't you EVER yell at my precious girl like that! You hear me?!"
As much as Twilight knew it was a bad time, she couldn't help but giggle and cry at being called Chase's precious girl.
"You can't have a cutie mark, Starlight!" Sugar Belle said firmly as she glare at the lilac unicorn, "Either we're all equal, or none of us are!"
Starlight sees everypony defiantly glaring at her as well.
Starlight immediately responds by quickly using her magic to clear an path for herself to escape as she retreats to her house.
"Come on! Let's get our cutie marks back!" Double Diamond announced as he lead the others to the cave where their cutie marks were being held hostage.
"Yeah!" The ponies all shouted in agreement as they immediately followed suit.
"Come on! Let's go get our cutie marks!" Rainbow Dash confidently spoke ready to follow suit.
"Our cutie marks aren't in the vault! They're in there with her!" Fluttershy quickly pointed out to her cottage.
(Scene changes)
Back at the cutie mark vault, the villagers were banging and pounding on the cases to try and break the cutie marks free, but it was no good.
"Stand back everypony!" said Double Diamond as he grabbed the so called Staff of Sameness and tossed it at the vault as hard as he could.
The staff hit the wall, causing it to crack a bit, which caused a chain reaction as the cracks expanded. Then the seal shattered, and released all the cutie marks contained inside each cubby.
Double Diamond's cutie mark landed back on his flank, rising him into the air and brightening his coloring and even his mane style was altered a bit so it was more relaxed and bushy. The other villagers had the same effects and alterations. They all smiled excitedly at getting their cutie marks back. A few more cutie marks flew out of the cave and restored the ponies who stayed at the village as those inside the cave ran out.
"Even without my cutie mark, I can tell this is beautiful," said Rarity.
Inside her cottage, Starlight watched the ponies get their cutie marks with a bitter look on her face.
"They think they can come to my village and disrupt my life?" Starlight accused angrily, "Let's see how they like spending the rest of their lives without their precious cutie marks!" Starlight then picked up the jars containing the cutie marks of the rest of the Mane seven and used her magic to reveal a secret passage underneath her bed. She quickly took off down the staircase with the cutie marks in her magic grip.
(Scene changes)
Outside the cottage, Applejack tried to buck the front door down. Rarity tried scratching the door with her fore-hooves, but it was no good. Twilight and Pinkie were just peeking through the windows.
The Mane seven all heard a whistle. They looked up see, Sugar Belle, Party Favor, Night Glider, and Double Diamond standing above them. Just like Double Diamond, Night Glider, Party Favor, and Sugar Belle had different mane and tail styles. Party Favor's mane and tail were now light poufy. Same with Sugar Belle's mane and tail except she had a beaded hair tie on her mane and tail similar to Applejack's. Night Glider's mane and tail had a more streamlined wave to them and her mane style as similar to Spitfire's.
"Stand back, everypony!" said Night Glider as she hovered into the air and then power dived at the door, knocking it down easily.
The six girls, Chase, and their four new friends rushed inside and began to search the house, not caring if they knocked things over and smash things as they did so.
Fluttershy had just made her way upstairs to check the bedroom when Chase appeared behind her.
"They're gone!" said Fluttershy as she noticed the empty table, "They were right over there!" She then noticed the deconstructed bed and the secret passage way. The Mane seven and the four villager ponies slowly made their way toward the entrance.
"Come on!" said Chase as everypony picked up their pace and headed down the passage way. The group later came out of a small cave just a short distance away from the village. They quickly began to scope the area to see which direction Starlight had headed.
"Look!" said Rainbow as she pointed into the distance.
The rest tried to look but they couldn't see anything. Party Favor then got an idea as he pulled out a yellow balloon and tied it up into some multi-colored binoculars. He then caught sight of Starlight. She had a wagon hooked up to herself that had the rest of the Mane seven's cutie marks and was running as fast as she could away from the village.
"She's headed for the pass!" Party Favor worriedly, "If she makes it into those mountains, we'll never find her!"
"Oh no!" said Chase worriedly. Pinkie then took the balloon binoculars and looked through them.
"These are amazing!" said Pinkie as she used the binoculars.
"There's a whole network of caves up there!" Sugar Belle pointed out, "Your cutie marks will be gone forever!"
"What's worse, she'll be bringing them to Zhao in a matter of minutes!" Chase added.
"What?!" Everypony asked in shock.
"Zhao's behind this as well?!" Rainbow Dash asked in concern.
"Yeah, he wants the cutie marks so he can gain their powers for his plan to take over the world again." Chase explained. "We gotta stop her!"
With that, Chase flew after Starlight. The group then took off following him. Or at least their four village friends took off. Rainbow tried to fly fast, but her pulsing equal mark prevented her from flying any faster than the five ponies just marching at a very slow pace below with stern looks on their faces.
"Oh, come on!" Rainbow cried out in frustration.
Meanwhile, Starlight was running quickly down the path. She looked back to see Chase Young, Double Diamond, Party Favor, Sugar Belle, and Night Glider behind her.
"Are you all so willing to give up everything because of these strangers?! Especially him?!" Starlight asked bitterly before she fired a magic blast at some snow, causing it to fall right on top of Night Glider, who had been hovering just behind the lilac unicorn. Night Glider glared as she shook the snow off her head.
"We gave up everything for you," Sugar Belle shouted back as she ran past Night Glider, "because we thought you were our friend." Party Favor and Double Diamond were right behind her.
The rest of the Mane Seven, however, were getting further and further behind.
"I can't believe we have to count on these other ponies to save our cutie marks!" Rainbow whined.
"If we hadn't come here to help them, they'd still be living under her rules!" Twilight reminded them, "Now it's their turn to help us!"
"And I know they can do it!" Fluttershy said confident.
Back with the group of five, Starlight rushed across a narrow bridge. As she looked back, she saw Chase, Double Diamond, Party Favor, and Sugar Belle still giving chase. Sugar Belle then looked at her cutie mark and got an idea. She smiled as she made her horn glow and created a pie made out of snow.
"My newest recipe," said Sugar Belle, "snow pie!" She then tossed the pie at Starlight. While her toss came up short, it wasn't a bad thing.
The snow pie ended up smashing the harness connecting Starlight to the wagon. Starlight fell down and the jars with the rest of the Mane seven's cutie marks fell out of the wagon and into the chasm below. Starlight quickly used her magic and caught the jars just inches before they could shatter and ran off with them.
She quickly turned around and fired a magic blast to destroy the narrow bridge while still holding the jars. Double Diamond, Party Favor, and Sugar Belle just barely stopped in time to avoid falling off the edge as Starlight took off into the distance as Chase flew after her.
Double Diamond and Sugar Belle then noticed Party Favor working with some balloons. With some fast moving hooves, he created a balloon bridge long enough for them to cross. Night Gliders helped him secure the balloon bridge in place before he, along with Double Diamond and Sugar Belle, bounced across it to the other side. The rest of the Mane seven then noticed that Starlight was still on the run with Chase chasing after her.
"She's gonna get away!" Rainbow shouted.
The five ponies continued the chase when Double Diamond came to a stop when he noticed a pair of skis stuck in the snow.
"Whoa! These are my old skies!" Double Diamond exclaimed, "This is where I first met Starlight."
"Maybe you can reminisce another time!" said Night Glider as she hovered above him, "She's almost to the caves! Chase can't catch up to her!" Double Diamond then got an idea.
"Feel like an air drop?" he asked Night Glider.
Starlight was just yards away from the caves. When suddenly Double Diamond and Night Glider overtook her thanks to the latter carrying the former, who was now wearing his skis. Night Glider let go so Double Diamond could use his skis to make a large drift of snow crash right on top of Starlight, burying her.
Chase, Party Favor and Sugar Belle stopped before the fallen snowdrift. The buried snow made Starlight lose her magic grip on the jars. As soon as they hit the ground, they shattered and the rest of the Mane seven's cutie marks were released. Twilight was slowly approaching when she saw some glowing object flying toward her and the others.
Twilight's cutie mark landed right on her flank, causing her body to glow and rise into the air. With a bright flash of light, Twilight's cutie mark and coloring were restored. The others smiled excitedly as their cutie marks and coloring were restored as well.
"Yee-haw!" Applejack cheered as she did several strong bucks in the air with her hind legs, "I can buck like a five-bit snake herder in an Appleloosa ranch horse again!"
"And you got your countryisms back too!" Fluttershy added.
Back at the snow drift, Double Diamond came to a stop on his skis.
"Thanks everypony," Chase told them, "Great job!"
He got genuine smiles from the four ponies. Starlight had finally recovered and peeked out from under the snow drift. She glared furiously at the four ponies and Chase. All but Chase cringed and backed away fearfully as Chase glared back at her.
Starlight fired a magic blast. Chase got ready to return it, but Twilight then arrived and created a force-field to block the magic blast. Chase was grateful since Starlight fired a more constant stream of magic this time around. The others winced nervously, but then saw that Twilight's shield had blocked the magic blast easily.
"Wh-I studied that spell for years!" Starlight interjected, "How can you-"
"I studied magic for years too!" said Twilight, "So did my husband!"
Starlight growled.
"But what I didn't know and my husband knew from the start is that studying can only take me so far," Twilight continued as she and Chase walked up to Starlight, "Each of my friends has taught me something different about myself! Same goes for Chase, too." The two alicorns then looked back to see the rest of the Mane seven had joined the four villager ponies.
"It was their unique gifts and passions and personalities that helped bring out the magic inside of us!" Twilight continued as the five girls and four village ponies shared smiles with each other, "I never would have learned that I represent the element of magic without these five! I wouldn't have learned my husband is the Element of Bravery, the most powerful element of all! And we certainly wouldn't be here to stop you now!" Starlight seethed with fury and gave the two alicorns an eye roll.
"Spare me your sentimental nonsense!" Starlight snapped angrily, "I gave these ponies real friendships they could've never had otherwise!"
"Yeah right!" Chase retorted, "You call turning me into a kid being a real friend? You've been doing this just to hurt yourself even more!"
"Well, that's all you've ever been, cutie mark or not!" Starlight yelled.
"That probably would go the same on your face! If I didn't know you any better, I'd say you just did this so you can bring me to Zhao in my puny form!" Chase retorted with a smirk before he finished with a glare, making Starlight blink until she glared at him furiously.
"How do you know that?" Double Diamond yelled as he threw off his helmet, "You never gave us a chance!"
Starlight glared angrily before she turned her attention to Chase.
"Mark my words, Chase Young." Starlight vowed. "One day soon, my master Zhao will rule this world and you will bow to his feet with all force."
Then she made her glow, which caused a giant magic orb to expand around her.
When the magic orb disappeared, Starlight was gone. Rainbow then heard hoofsteps inside the caves as well as tracks from the snow.
"She's getting away!" said Rainbow.
"We'll never find her in there!" said Double Diamond as Chase walked toward the cave entrance to see it was too dark for him to search for her.
"Man, she probably won't even learn anything at this point." Chase said to himself as he walked back to join the rest of the group.
"Don't worry, Chase." Twilight said gently to her husband. "We just have to hope that when she's had a chance to think it over, she realizes that you all have taught her something."
"It's you who have taught us something," said Party Favor as he walked up to Twilight, "We all came to this village because we were searching for something missing from our lives. We thought Starlight had given it to us, but now..." He then walked over to Night Glider, Double Diamond, and Sugar Belle, who were sharing worried looks with each other, "now it seems it was in front of us all along. It's us!"
The four ponies shared a group hug with each other.
"Does that mean you'll stay in the village?" Twilight asked.
"It's our home," said Night Glider, "I'm not going anywhere."
"This is a chance for all of us to get to know each other again for the very first time," said Double Diamond.
"And I finally have a chance to bake something besides terrible muffins," Sugar Belle said happily and everypony laughed.
(Scene changes)
Back in the village, banners were now set up as the villagers were celebrating and chatting with each other. Party Favor was tossing a beach ball with another pony. Sugar Belle was serving various, and now high quality, baked goods to the other ponies to eat. Double Diamond was chatting with two cute mares when the beach ball bounced off his head. Just outside the village, the Mane seven were smiling and watching everypony having a good time.
"Now those are real smiles," said Pinkie happily.
"Indeed they are," said Chase.
It was then Applejack heard a humming sound and looked to see that her cutie mark was glowing. In fact, all of the Mane seven found that their cutie marks were glowing.
"I'll never get used to that," said Applejack wearily.
"I think it's divine," said Rarity as she admired her glowing cutie mark.
"Does this mean that the map is calling us somewhere else?" Fluttershy asked Twilight, "I really want to get back home to my husband. I miss him something awful." Fluttershy tried hard not to cry as Chase pulled her close for a gentle hug to calm her down.
"I have a feeling it means our work here is done," said Twilight.
"Looks like you were right, Twilight and Chase," said Applejack, "The map did have a reason for bringing us here. We brought real friendship to these here ponies. Guess that's why you two are the Princess and Prince of Friendship."
"But the map didn't send me or just my husband or even just the two of us," Twilight pointed out, "You're all a part of us, all of you. And there's no doubt you're a part of our mission to spread friendship too." Everypony laughed as they shared a group hug.
"This feels like an ending!" said Pinkie as she pulled away worriedly, "It doesn't have to be an ending yet, right? 'Cause that Sugar Belle can bake!"
"Maybe we can stay a little while longer," said Twilight, "Come on!"
"Lead the way, honey," said Chase eagerly as the rest of the Mane seven followed their Prince and Princess into the main area of the village.
It might have been just a small village, but they all could agree that this had turned out to be quite the epic adventure.
(Scene changes)
At the Well of Shade, Starlight was there bowing before Zhao as he sat on his throne. She had told him everything about what had transpired this evening.
Needless to say, Zhao was quite angry.
"This is unexceptable." Zhao said sternly as he got up from his throne and approached her. "I don't know how to punish you, Starlight. I gave you a task and you failed me."
"Yes, master." Starlight began. "But please, next time, I'll be ready."
"You have better be." Zhao said in a calm but firm voice. "But for that to work, I want you to watch over those ponies and bring Chase to me. He is my link to take over the world as my trophy."
"But I hate him." Starlight whinned. "He's so… good."
That Zhao glare at her with a low growl.
"There must be another way to do it." Starlight finished, which made Zhao lean into her face while glaring at her even more.
"I don't recall asking your opinion." Zhao said, firmly.
Starlight looked down with reluctant look before she faced Zhao once more.
"Of course, master." Starlight finally said. "I will watch them and wait for your command as you tell me."
"Good. Now go." Zhao said firmly as Starlight left the place off screen.
Once she was alone, Zhao turned to face the orb containing an image of Chase Young.
"You may have won this fight, Chase." Zhao said with an evil glare before he smirked sinisterly. "But now the real fight will begin soon enough. Once I have everything ready to flood the world once more, you will be no more."
Zhao chuckled sinisterly before he laughed evilly.