Making Sweet Equality Together
Starlight looked behind her as she ran through the maze of tunnels to see if anypony was still following her. To her relief, there wasn't. That gave her the opportunity to relax and reflect. As she sat on a nearby rock, all she could feel was complete and utter humiliation. She had done so much for her town. All she tried to do was make everypony equal so that there would be nothing but peace, and she succeeded. And how did they repay her? By chasing her out of her own town. She just wanted everypony to be friends. She wanted others to share her interests. Now all of her hard work was thrown down the tubes thanks to that meddling princess and her precious "friends." Starlight scoffed as she thought about all the stuff they told the town. Cutie marks showing how different you are, and THAT makes better friends? What a load of garbage. From what Starlight had been through, cutie marks just cause upsets and arguments, tearing friendships apart. She just wanted to help others realize it as well. Well, sure it involved lying to them, brainwashing them, and taking away their talents, but it was all for the greater good. Why couldn't anypony understand that? As Starlight sat there in the cave, she started to wish how there could be somepony out there who understood her. Somepony to understand where she was coming from, and even shared her ideals. Somepony who was like her.
Suddenly, as Starlight continued to somber, she heard movement from deeper in the cave. At first, she thought it was Princess Twilight and her friends, finally finding her, but she then realized that the sound came from inside the cave, and that there wasn't another way to where she was unless Twilight and her friends came from the other way. As curiosity overtook her, she started to venture further in, trying to pinpoint the sound. She swiftly turned the corner, and she found what she was looking for, though it was NOT what she would've ever expected. As she turned the corner, she stood in the presence of a creature not of Equestria, or at least, not any creature she'd ever seen before. It was tall, about the height of a long shrub, it stood on two legs, and wore a dark hood while its face was hiding behind a mask of some kind. Starlight had never seen anything like it. As the creature tilted its head and its eyes peered down at her, Starlight was so filled with both curiosity and fear, she couldn't even move, let alone talk. The two just stared at each other. No one made a move for a least a few minutes. Then, at last, a voice came from the creature, and when it spoke, its voice was deep and gritty. Starlight could tell that it was a male.
"A horse? What would a horse be doing in a cave?"
At that point, Starlight found her words again and answered, "Excuse me, I am NOT just a horse. I am a unicorn!" Though the creature's face didn't move, his eyes widened through the eye holes on the mask.
"It...talks?" he asked aloud, sounding stunned, but not shocked. He tilted his head back up as he continued. "That is...unnatural. Then again, I've seen many crazy things lately." As he spoke, Starlight couldn't tell if he was talking to her or just talking to himself out loud. "I mean, I was sure that I had died in the explosion, but...that's right! My brother blew the boat up. Instead of dying, I end up washing onto a mysterious shore. How is that possible? I should be dead."
"Uh...sir?" Starlight intervened. The creature peered at her again. "What are you talking about? Who are you? And what are you doing in this cave?"
"I am Noata...I mean...Amon," answered the creature. "Waterbender and...former leader of the Equalists of Republic City. And WHAT are you?"
Starlight scrunched her face with annoyance at being called a what. "I am Starlight Glimmer. Unicorn and...former town leader. Ah, but why am I telling you this? You don't even seem interested!"
"You'd be correct," Amon answered bluntly, making Starlight huff. "I have no interest in talking, technicolor unicorns with pictures on their behinds. I'm just here to figure out what has happened to me."
"Oh yeah?" Starlight asked agitatedly. "Well I'M not interested with tall weirdos who dress like its Nightmare Night and talk like Batmare with a head cold! I'M just here to get away from my failures with equalizing my town! So if you're done Amen, I'll just-"
"It's AMON you walking jar of purple glue!" Amon growled, "And don't mess with me. I could hold you down and remove all abilities from you if I wanted to!"
"And I have the power to take away your special talent if I wanted to!" Starlight sneered as her horn started to glow with anticipation of a fight. "I may be small compared to you, but I'm no pushover! I was able to take away an entire town's cutie marks with this ability!"
"Bah! That's nothing!" Amon laughed as he struck a fighting stance. "My power was able to take away half a city's bending power!"
The two continued to stare each other down, neither one throwing a single attack. It was if they were trying to take each other down in a staring contest. Neither one talked for minutes as they just stared into each other eyes a large amount of intensity. Finally, after what seemed like five minutes, Starlight finally spoke, not even changing her expression. "You really have the power to take away talents?"
Amon nodded. "YOU were able to take control of a town?" Starlight nodded back. She then was taken back in surprise as Amon lowered his fighting stance and stood as if he was pondering. Then, in a casual tone, he said, "You and me are a lot alike aren't we?"
Starlight froze with confusion. She didn't really think about that. But since he mentioned it, they DID have similar traits. Not only did they both have the power to remove others' talents, but they were able to take over a town, or half a city in his case. Starlight's horn dimmed as she recoiled her fighting stance as well. She looked up to Amon's hidden face, peering into his equally confused eyes. "I...guess we are," she mumbled in a surprised tone. The two just stood there in an awkward silence as they thought of what to do next. How would one recover from a statement like that. After a while, Amon broke the silence.
"So...how else are we alike?"
Starlight thought for a moment before answering. "Well, what's your story?"
"It's a pretty long story," he replied softly, "but I guess I can try to explain. We might want to sit down though." Starlight nodded as they found a seat on a nearby boulder. Amon then began his story. "I was born and raised in the Northern Water Tribe. I don't know about this world, but in my world, there are four nations which humans from different nationalities live. These nationalities are based off of the four elements; Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. Though with four nationalities in the world, there were only two types of people; regulars and benders." Starlight tilted her head in confusion. "Benders are people who can control one of the four elements, depending on which nationality you were. I am one of those benders. I can control all forms of water." With that said, Amon looked to the corner to see a small puddle of water. He then waved his hand, and to Starlight's amazement, the water moved to Amon's hand movements.
"Amazing form of magic," Starlight said in awe. "I must look it up."
"I wouldn't be surprised if this world HAD that form of bendi...I mean magic," Amon chuckled. "At this point, nothing would surprise me. Anyway, as I grew up, I noticed that there were benders who would pick on the regular people, taunting them with their own bending abilities, bragging about how much more special they were, and it just made me sick. As my abilities grew, I decided that the best way to bring peace to the world, was to rid it of bending, so that everybody would be equal. I was able to rally a team, and soon an entire army, under my beliefs. I made them believe that I was granted the power to purge people of their bending, although it was just a form of bloodbending I had mastered." As Amon continued, Starlight's eyes grew wider and wider with amazement. "After I moved to Republic City, I had hundreds of followers and supporters to my cause, who wanted to be equal as well. Sure I made up a story about how my parents were killed by a bender, and that was where my mission started, and sure I lied when I said I wasn't a bender, but it was all for the greater good!" Starlight could hear the intensity in Amon's voice as he spoke. He really felt passionate about his mission for equality, and THAT made Starlight all the more interested in him. All she could do was stare in awe as she listened, but her face soon dissolved into a concerning frown as Amon turned away.
"I was so close. I was ready to lead the world into equality, until..." Suddenly, Amon's voice changed to a combination of hurt and fury, "...the Avatar came along! The Avatar was the one person in the world who could bend all four elements. She was supposed to be the only one who could 'bring balance to the world.' What a load of garbage! It was because of HER meddling that I lost my followers. She exposed me for who I was, and ran me out of the city! I..." His voice suddenly changed again as it sounded like he was fighting back tears. Starlight looked with concern. "...I just wanted peace. I wanted equality. I wanted to make the world a better place. But now here I am. In a world I'm not familiar with and with no place to call home! Ah, but why am I telling YOU all of this? What would you know about losing a dream?"
"I KNOW!" Starlight suddenly shouted, small tears flowing down her face. Amon stopped and looked at her, hints of concern and confusion coming from his eyes. "I know exactly how you feel! Because the exact same thing happened to ME!" Amon's eyes widened at the statement as Starlight wiped her eyes. "In MY world, ponies have pictures on their flanks that signify their special talent known as cutie marks. Others say that they make us special, but growing up, all I saw was that they were excuses to tease other ponies, to brag about how much better they were at that specific talent. All cutie marks did was ruin friendships! That's when I got the idea in my head to create a world where nopony would have to worry about cutie marks and special talents. A world where all ponies would be just alike, so that no friendships would be ruined anymore. My magic allows me to remove cutie marks, and therefore, remove talents, and replace them with an equal sign cutie mark. I was able to turn an entire town into a peaceful utopia of equality!"
"You...you too?" Amon asked, his eyes glued to Starlight.
"Yes!" she replied. "Sure I did some dishonest things, like brainwash the citizens and lie about giving up my own cutie mark, but I had to have my magic if I was to purify the town. It was for-"
"The greater good?"
Starlight smiled slightly as she looked into Amon's dark eyes, a lone tear running down her cheek. "That's right. But then a meddling alicorn princess and her stupid friends came snooping around, and though I was able to purify them, they tricked me into revealing myself and I got run out of the town I helped create, and that's how I ended up here." Starlight stared at the ground with sorrow as she continued. "And now I'm back to square one. All I wanted was to make Equestria a peaceful and equalized nation, little by little, but now?" More tears started to flow as she stared at the ground. "Now I've lost my will to dream! I don't know what to do!"
Suddenly, Starlight's sobbing was interrupted by Amon, who had gotten to his feet and was standing directly in front of her. Starlight looked up into his eyes as he started to speak.
"You don't know what to do you say? The answer is obvious! You try again!" Amon said intently. He reached out a hand and touched Starlight's cheek, wiping some of the tears away. Starlight sighed at the warmth his hand was giving off, and smiled softly as he continued. "You and I are alike in more than just one way. We are...like twins you and I! We have the same dreams, the same power, the same ambition, heck, we even have the same defeats! This meeting was NOT just a coincidence. I know that now! You and I were destined to meet, and do you know why?" Starlight shook her head no. "So that we can accomplish our goals together! We weren't able to make a peaceful nation by ourselves, but together..."
"Together we can truly make this world a peaceful nation, full of equality!" Starlight finished as she stood, her body and mind finding a restored confidence.
"That's right!" Amon said happily. "We can use our powers and ambitions to turn...uh...what's the name of this place?"
"Equestria."
"To turn Equestria into a world where everybody...I mean...everypony is equal! No pony will be left behind. Every last pony will be purged of their horrid cutie marks, and true friendship will reign supreme!" Amon looked over to a smiling Starlight and reached his hand out to her. "Are you with me Starlight?"
He didn't even have to ask twice. "Oh Amon!" Starlight happily sighed as she took his hand. "I'll follow you until the ends of time!"
"To the ends of time...and beyond!" Amon said, making Starlight sigh dreamily. "Come my dear! Let's make sweet equality together!"
And make equality they did! It wasn't long before the pair made their way to another town, one that they had never been to before. Though it was small, it was a good place to start their propaganda. Ponies gathered to hear Amon and Starlight's testimonies on the dangers and hurts that cutie marks and being different could bring. Amon even changed his story on how a cocky unicorn killed his father to show off his special talent. They two told the town that they had the means of bringing peace, equality, and true friendship to them, and just like shooting fish in a barrel, the town bought every word. Ponies lined up to have their cutie marks taken away. Surprisingly, Amon's bloodbending worked on the ponies as well, and he was able to "purify" them of their special talents for good. Through all of their propaganda and stories, Amon and Starlight were able to brainwash the entire town and turn everypony into walking smiles. And all the while, the two equalists just grew closer together. You wouldn't see a pair of friends happier than them.
They didn't stop at one town though. As news of their "good doings" spread, there were more and more towns lining up to be purged and given "true friendship." Over the course of just a few months, the two traveled all over, earning hundreds of supporters in the process, and even having towns being renamed after them. That being said, there were those who didn't agree with their ideals, and even fought against them. But with the combined power of Amon, Starlight, and their shared ambitions, nopony stood a chance. It soon came to the point where if you talked bad against Amon and Starlight's Equal Ponies Movement, you were stormed by mobs of angry supporters. Not even the four princesses, with all of their powers, could talk the ponies of Equestria back into their senses. They also knew that if they tried to do anything against the pair, the ponies of Equestria would wage war against them, and then what would happen? Complete chaos!
In the course of a year, over 3/4 of Equestria was equalized! One by one, all major cities were submitting to the movement. Manehattan, Las Pegasus, Phillydelphia, they all were equalized! Amon and Starlight had supporters spread out all across the nation, with their main branch in Baltimare, since it was the first big city they equalized. The two couldn't have been happier. Their dream was coming true little by little. They had accomplished what they thought was impossible; complete equality and true friendship!
As they looked over their newly equalized city from the balcony of their mansion that overlooked all of Baltimare, and held a giant bronze statue of the two in front of it, all they could do was smile and sigh at the sight.
"Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful, isn't it Starlight?" Amon sighed happily as he looked towards his happy unicorn partner.
"More than beautiful Amon," she replied. "It's DIVINE! We have brought the world out of the darkness and into the light. We have shown the world what the true meaning of friendship is!"
"Indeed," Amon nodded. "And yet..." Starlight looked with concern as Amon stepped away from her and turned his masked face away, as if he was suddenly sad. "I'm afraid I haven't been honest with you."
"What is it my darling?" Starlight asked.
"Well..." Amon turned towards Starlight and took a deep breath. "My name's...not actually Amon!" Starlight gasped. "My name is actually...Noatak. And another thing. Well...this isn't my actual face!" Starlight started to gasp again but stopped.
"Oh I knew THAT," Starlight giggled. "But...would it be ok if I...saw your real face?"
"I don't know," Noatak responded as he turned away again. "What if you don't like what you see?"
Starlight slowly trotted up to him and, grabbing his hand, slowly lowered him down to her eye level. "Let ME be the judge of that." Noatak looked unsure at first, but then nodded. Starlight's horn then began to glow as a magical aura appeared around the mask. Slowly, as he closed his eyes, she removed the disguise from Noatak's face, and slightly gasped at what she saw. Noatak had a slightly tanned face, a head full of brown hair that dropped to his shoulders, and when he opened his eyes, Starlight saw that they were ocean blue and, in Starlight's opinion, quite mesmerizing. Starlight stared at his face for a bit, smiling softly into his beautiful eyes.
"I don't understand why you'd want to hide yourself," she finally said. "You're so handsome!"
Noatak's face lifted as he looked into Starlight's violet eyes. "You mean...you don't care that I lied about my name? Nor do you care how I look?"
"Of course not my dear," Starlight replied. "All that matters is our goal to make the world a better place, and, to be honest, I like Noatak way more than Amon." As she smiled at him, Noatak's mouth curled into a big smile, his eyes filling with relief and happiness, and his face lighting up as brightly as the sun.
"Oh Starlight," he said dreamily as he whisked her into his arms, resulting in a small surprised squeak from her." This changes everything between us! I can't continue to hide behind emotions and secrets when it's around you! I have to tell you how I really feel!"
Starlight's eyes grew wide with anticipation as she leaned closer towards Noatak. "Yes?"
"I can't stop thinking about you!" Noatak said as he held Starlight in his arms. "Ever since I saw how much we had in common, I couldn't stop. I know that we've been partners for such a long time, but I want to be more!"
"Yes..." Starlight sighed dreamily.
"I want to spend every minute of my equalizing life with you!"
"Yes!"
"I know that you're a pony and I'm a human. It shouldn't work, but we can MAKE it work!"
"YES!"
By this point, tears of joy were streaming down Starlight's face as she listened to her secret admirer's speech, looking as if all of her dreams had come true in a matter of minutes. Noatak didn't look any different.
"I mean, look at what we've done, just the two of us?" Noatak continued as he pointed out towards the city. "We've brought equality to Equestria. Together, not as partners, but as one unit or equalizing love, we can change all of this nation for the better!"
Starlight sighed dreamily again as she nuzzled close to her partner. "And why stop there my love? We can expand! With our ambition and power, we can bring peace to the rest of this world!"
"And why stop THERE?" Noatak asked more intently. "We can find OTHER worlds. I had to have come here somehow! We will find THOSE worlds, and bring friendship, equality, and peace to them!" We can turn EVERY INCH of every world out there into an equalized paradise for all creatures alike!" He then looked at the pony in his arms and smiled. "We two! Together! The saviors of the worlds and everything in between! I can't think of anyone, or anypony, I would rather do this with. What do you say my sweet?"
Without a single trace of hesitance, Starlight took Noatak's head in between her hooves and brought it down so that their faces were inches from each other, a dreamy smile plastered on her face. "I will follow you no matter where we go! As long as we're together, I will always follow you!"
"Then let us go," Noatak whispered seductively, "and continue to make...sweet equality together"
"Oh Noatak..."
"Oh Starlight..."
At that moment, Twilight jerked awake in a cold sweat as she sat up in her bed. The sun was peeking through the window of her room, but she wasn't thinking about that. Twilight didn't move and she didn't talk. She just sat there, with a most disturbed look on her face from what she just imagined. Starlight Glimmer had taken over the world with a...human who could bend water, shared her lust of equality, and...fell in love with her?
"SPIKE!" she shouted from her bed. "WHAT DID YOU PUT IN MY DINNER LAST NIGHT?!"
Author's Note
Well THAT was something. Did it sound soap opera-ish to you? Did it? GOOD! 
