The One That Wouldn't Equal Two
Free yourself from your cutie mark.
Fluttershy had been the first.
At the time, it had seemed like a good idea to send her as a spy. From the very beginning, she had done nothing but compliment the town, done nothing but smile her sweet little smile and say how wonderful it was, how friendly the ponies were. She would be perfect to send in as one of them. After all, who would suspect such a timid, gentle pony? Once she was in, she could sneak to the cave and get their cutie marks back, and once they had those, they could escape. They could leave, try and free the others, or, if it came to it, run and never look back. Rainbow was never one for running from a fight, but even she had limits. There were some things you couldn't fight. Ponies, ponies that weren't monsters, but were just like you, was one of them.
The next day, Fluttershy had stood next to her, the picture of sincere compliance, wearing her own toothy grin and doing her best to simper. However, when her back was turned, the timid pegasus had given them a small nod of assurance, signaling she was still herself. Rainbow could still remember the small, genuine smile that she knew so well. She could remember the twinkle in Fluttershy's eye, the breeze in her long, freely flowing hair.
She still didn't know how it happened. How their friend could have vanished so quickly. But the day after that, Fluttershy's beautiful hair had been chopped short, dull and flat. Her eyes were glassy, full of cheerfulness that seemed overly bright, painful to look at. Her smile was toothy and stretched, pulling the skin of her face tight into some horrifying mask that was definitely not Fluttershy. For a brief, desperate moment, Rainbow hoped that it was just another ruse, but then she saw the genuine sadness in Fluttershy's eyes when they all refused, and she realized, with a sinking heart, that her friend from foalhood was gone.
In sameness, there is peace.
Rarity had followed soon after. The day that Fluttershy left had been hard for all of them. Twilight had paced, demanding answers from nopony; how could this have happened, how? Applejack had growled and attempted to buck the door in a fit of rage, as Rainbow had. Pinkie sniffled quietly from a corner. Rarity, however, sat perfectly still by the window, watching the curtains fluttering. Talking to her prompted no response. She just stared and stared, watery grey tracks trickling down her face as the last of her mascara washed off.
The next morning, the unicorn threw herself at her hooves and begged for acceptance. She, of course, had been all to happy to oblige, even giving Rarity her own ratty cloak upon her arrival. The way she twirled it like it was a ball gown still haunted Rainbow's dreams. The next day, Rarity appeared next to Fluttershy; her perfectly curled mane was wound into a bun, and she too wore a toothy grin. If anything, the second loss hurt more then the first.
Exceptionalism is a lie.
Two days later, Pinkie Pie, the party mare with the airy spirit and completely unique demeanor, defected. Her usual bounciness gone, she walked out with heavy, dull steps. When she asked if they were ready, Pinkie had nodded once, her poofy mane deflating to a razor-flat mockery in seconds. While she watched in glee, Pinkie went to stand next to the others, who embraced her and looked expectantly at the remaining three ponies. Applejack and Twilight stared in silent horror. Rainbow stared with hatred at the mare who was shredding her heart, piece by piece.
Choose equality as your special talent.
Surprisingly, Twilight had left just a day later. Rainbow had hoped she would fight along with her and Applejack, but she supposed the Princess of Friendship needed friends. And the town had plenty. All smiling, all welcoming. All equal in every way except color and name, and even their colors seemed to blend as the days dragged one. Twilight had galloped to their midst, away from Rainbow, and into the open hooves of the equal ponies. She had embraced them like family. Like they were long-lost friends.
Applejack, at the newest loss, seemed to snap. With a wordless roar of rage, she charged at the one who was the cause of her suffering. She didn't even flinch. Two equal ones grabbed the furious mare and hustled her back into the shack, where Rainbow hugged her as she sobbed into her hat.
Difference is frustration.
For the longest time, nothing else had happened. Each day, Rainbow and Applejack paced the confines of the tiny shed, unable to sleep with the constant, looping messages. Every now and then, one would pass out from sheer exhaustion, waking up a little more equal, a little more grey. Rainbow was unsure how much time past. Years, or perhaps days, or even hours. All she knew was that, all too soon, Applejack left. She stumbled out, legs as clumsy as a newborn foal's, as Rainbow yelled for her to come back. She didn't. She sat down in front of her and, without a word, hoofed over her hat. With a smug grin, she set it ablaze with a glow of her horn.
To excel is to fail.
Now, Rainbow was the only one left. Every day, she would open the door to the hut, bring her into the blinding sunshine, and ask whether she was ready to join. Every day, her 'no' became less and less defiant.
She was falling asleep more and more now. The words had faded into background noise, meaningless, and yet when she listened, she was able to rattle them off by heart. In the long hours between public spectacles, Rainbow sat and asked herself what the point of fighting was.
Be your best, by never being your best.
Rainbow was the Element of Loyalty. Loyalty to herself, of course, but first and foremost, to her friends. Although some small part of her knew her friends hadn't chosen this, it was silenced by a part that grew louder each day, saying that they had.
Conformity will set you free.
If this was what her friends wanted, why wasn't she beside them? Why didn't she accept, don a cloak and join them? She could be happy and free, she could finally rest in peace. Why was she fighting?
Every time Rainbow thought this, she would clamp down on her thoughts and bang her head against a wall. She knew why. It was for them. They hadn't chosen this. She had to fight.
For her friends. For...
For one brief, heart-stopping moment, she had to struggle to remember their names. For...Fluttershy. For Twilight. Applejack. Rarity. Pinkie Pie. For her friends.
You're no better then your friends.
Rainbow supposed that she was getting annoyed with Rainbow's resistance, because now, with the usual babble of brainwashing chatter, new tapes were played. The voices of her friends.
Pinkie, flatly insisting that equality was 'over the usual level of enjoyment'.
Rarity, gushing over how nice the cloaks were, how good Rainbow would look in one.
Applejack, her usual countryisms gone, her accent fading, assuring her this was for the best. After all, Honesty wouldn't lie.
Twilight, saying that her studies proved this was the true way to friendship.
And Fluttershy, kind, sweet Fluttershy, begging and pleading for Rainbow to join them. To accept equality and be happy.
Rainbow tried not to listen. She struggled to remember the days when her friends had been unique, when each had worn a cutie mark that hadn't been an equal sign. She would put her hooves over her ears and scream until her vocal cords felt torn, trying to remember, trying to block the voices, the constant, pleading, convincing voices. Trying to remember who she was. Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria, Element of Loyalty. Trying to remember her friends as they had been. bright and vibrant and unique.
But, as time dragged by, even her memories changed, until it seemed all she had ever known was the hut, and the pain of fighting equality. Her dreams, her talents, everything, faded away like snow under a relentless sun.
Her friends, in her memory, lost their color. They lost their marks. They cried each time she thought of defiance. Soon, even in her waking thoughts, they pleaded and begged her to join them. Or perhaps it would be better to say that she had no waking thoughts. Only the voices, echoing in her head, begging and begging and begging and begging.Each plea was a dagger through her heart, a pickax that slowly chipped at her resolve. Finally, she broke. She couldn't take it anymore.
Accept your invitation, and happiness will follow.
The next day dawned grey and hot. Sunshine beat down from the sky. Her voice echoed in Rainbow's ears. "Are you ready to accept equality and true happiness?"
Rainbow shed one final tear and looked at her friends. They grinned, tearful, and beckoned her forward. To join them. To accept the invitation and be happy.
"Yes."
The equal mark on her flank glowed black, and Rainbow grinned again.
