Chapters It was an unpleasant night. The sky was gloomy, clouds covered the stars and streets wouldn’t shut up! Ever since we lost our necklaces to those girls at Canterlot High, every day has been like that. But Adagio still believes that we can create disharmony.
‘Come on girls! I know that we can tear them apart.’ Agadio says, pointing at two girls walking through the park we were hiding in.
‘That is a pretty good idea! Good job, Aria.’
‘I was kid-‘
‘So how are we going to do it?’ asks Sonata.
Adagio starts to think. ‘I got it!’ she says, honestly worrying me, ‘here is the plan: I’ll hide in the alley while you two split them up. Then I’ll tell the other that-‘
‘Adagio’ I say, ‘That is not going to work. There is nothing you can possibly tell them that they will believe enough to start an argument.’
‘If we can just persuade them to-‘
I shake my head. ‘Give up Adagio. Without the necklaces, there is no way we can gain control.’
‘What do you mean, Aria?’ asks Sonata.
‘She doesn’t know what she is talking about. We can still find some way to get them under our control!’ Adagio says to Sonata.
‘You are crazy!’ I start, ‘We have been like this for weeks. We lost all our powers to manipulate. These dumb ideas to create “disharmony” have no purpose. It used to fuel our magic, but now we don’t have that either!’
‘But-‘Sonata begins, but I continue
‘You know, maybe I should take the lead for once.’
‘I already told you’ Adagio says, ’we are going to do it my way. I am the one who found us those necklaces in the first place. ‘
‘And look where that got us!’
‘You don’t have a clue how to lead.’ Adagio teases
‘You don’t know that! Or maybe you’re just afraid that I will be a better leader than you’ and then it hit me, ’you know what? I am out! I will find my own way to power.
‘And how will you do that?’
Honestly, I didn't know how I was going to do that. But I was sure that I didn’t want to be pushed around by Adagio anymore!
I storm out of the park, but take one last look at them. Sonata looks at me with her sad eyes. I know I would miss her a lot. Adagio looks at me in a different way. I’m not sure if she is happy or sad, and I’m not sure she knows either. I mouth one final “goodbye” and keep walking.
I just keep walking, unsure of where I am going. Suddenly, I hear a voice.
‘Pss! Over here’
I turn around and see a young man hiding in the shadows. He had brown hair and was wearing black jeans, a blue shirt with a test tube on it. I walk towards him.
‘Your name is Aria Blaze, right?’ the man says
‘Yes.’
‘My name is Silver Comet. I know you are from Equestria. So am I. In fact, I know a lot about you. I know that you have been banished here.’
‘Great! You know things. So what?’
‘So, I want to help you get back!’
I was surprised. ‘Why do you want to help me?’
‘I want to get back too. I miss it there in Equestria. I just need a lab partner to help me. Are you interested?’
I started to consider it. If he could get me home, then I will be one step closer.
‘You’ve got yourself a deal!’ I say with a hand shake. Silver Comet takes my hand and drags me to what looks like a garage.
‘Behold! My lab’
‘Whoa! Is all this really yours?’ I ask
‘Everything in this garage.’
‘I have to say, I am impressed’
‘And here’ he says as he shows me something covered with a cloak, ‘Is what we are working on.’ He takes off the cloak to reveal what looks to be a half finished portal. ‘This is our ticket back to Equestria!’
‘I’m not sure if will be of assistance. I know nothing about nuts and bolts.’
‘That’s ok. I’ll tell you what to do.’
I thought he would be like Adagio and try to boss me around at any opportunity, but to my surprise, he wasn’t. I had fun working with him, talking and laughing. We worked on the portal every day, and in a few weeks, we finally did it. The only question was if it works.
‘Are you ready to see if it works?’ Silver asks
‘I just remembered something! I am not a pony. I will stick out like a sore thumb!’
‘You’re right! That will be a problem.’ Silver thinks for a while, then gets an idea.
‘This might sound crazy, but I know a way to change your genetics.’
I couldn’t believe my ears. ‘How can you do that?’
‘A potion that Star Swirled the Bearded was studying. I read it in a book once. I might be able to replicate it.’
Silver walks to the bookshelf nearby and takes out a book. He starts to flip through the book until he stops at a page.
‘Here is what it says: Take a hair off the mane of the creature, drop it into
‘How about this,’ Silver starts, ‘I’ll go through the portal and get the supplies, then I’ll come back, mix up the potion, and we can go back together. Ok?’
I didn’t like the idea of him leaving me, but I knew that I couldn’t return to Equestria as a siren. ‘Okay. I trust you.’
He writes down everything on a piece of paper and gets ready to return home while I set the coordinates to Ponyville.
‘Don’t forget to throw a stone back through the portal from Equestria so that I know you made it’ I say
As he is about to enter, I run after him and give him a big hug. I whisper “Good luck” in his ear, and watch him enter the portal. Moments later, a pebble lands at the base of the portal.
I waited for days. I would stand at the base of the portal, waiting for him to finally return. I combed my hair in a single ponytail so that people may recognize me even less. And after 3 days, he finally came.
‘I got all the supplies, Aria.’ says Silver. His face looked exhausted, like he just ran from one side of Equestria to another.
He almost collapses on the floor, but I hold him back up. ‘Are you ok?’ I ask.
‘I am perfect!’ He stands up and grabs a glass, fills it with water and hands it to me. ‘Are you ready to be a pony?’ I nod my head and we begin.
Silver takes a strand from my hair, drops it into the glass of water, adds the poison joke and mixes it with the Pegasus feather until it turns blue.
Finally, he adds another strand of hair. ‘It is ready!’
He hands me the glass. I look into it as if it was a poison for a moment. After I drink this, I won’t be a siren anymore. Should I do it? I look back up at Silver. His eyes were glowing. Without another thought, I hold my breath and drink every drop of the potion.
Silver looks at me in confusion. ‘Well, do you feel any different?’
I style the same expression. ‘I’m not sure. Did it work?’
Silver Comet holds out his hand for me, ‘Shall we go and find out?’
I take hold of his hand and nod my head. Then, I take a deep breath and enter the portal.
Moments later, I fall down, face first, on what I assume is Ponyville. I look down on my hands, only to find that they aren't hands anymore: They are hooves! I look up at Silver, who now has wings, a blue coat and that same brown mane. He smiles down at me, ‘Looks like it worked!’
I smile back at him and say, ‘Yeah! I guess it did!’
I had trouble walking at first, but eventually got the hang of it. I found a fountain to get a better look at myself. I still had my purple and turquoise hair, lavender skin and purple eyes. I did, however, have a unicorn horn.
‘This is new!’
As Silver and I walk around town, I notice a symbol on Silver’s flank.
‘What is that?’ I ask, pointing at the symbol.
Silver laughs a bit and explains, ‘That is a “Cutie Mark”. It appears on every pony’s flank once they discover what makes them special. It represents your special talent, your individuality and your destiny. I guess you don’t have one. Who knows, maybe you might get one too!’
Hmm. I need to do some research and learn more about ponies ‘Is there a library around here?’ I ask.
‘Well, there was. But now it is a bit…umm…blown up’
‘Oh well.’ I was disappointed, for sure. I really wanted to learn more about cutie marks and magic.
Silver must have noticed this, ‘How about we take a train to Canterlot? There are many libraries there. And it is the closest city from Ponyville!’Canterlot is the capital of Equestria. And there are a lot of magical books and relics there. Maybe I could enhance my abilities. ‘Let’s go!’
Silver and I took a train to Canterlot. Once we arrived, I knew that it was the perfect place to start. We head to the nearest library when we bump into a unicorn. He had a white coat, a blue mane, glasses and was wearing a suit of some sort.
‘My apologies.’ The unicorn says.
‘Oh, that’s fine!’ I reply.
‘I have never seen you two around Canterlot before. My name is Fancy Pants. What might be yours?’
‘My name is Silver Comet and we just came here from Ponyville.’
Fancy Pants turns to me. I realized that I have not introduced myself yet. What do I say? I don’t want anyone to recognize me as a siren! What was that girls from the school’s name? Uh…Sunset Shimmer, I think. But I can’t use her name! I’ll go with-
‘Starlight Glimmer’ I say, ‘My name is Starlight Glimmer.’
Silver makes a surprised look at me, but I pretend not to notice.
‘Well, hello both of you. Would you happen to be lost?’
‘Actually,’ Silver starts, ‘we are looking for the library. Do you know where it is?’
‘Yes, I do. Follow me!’ Fancy Pants guides us to the library. As we follow him, he tells us about the city, ‘Canterlot is quite a large city where some of the most sophisticated of ponies live. It is even home to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.’
Well, who doesn’t know that?
Once we reach the library, we thank Fancy and head inside. When we got inside, I knew we made the right choice coming here. The library was HUGE! There were thousands of books, all stacked up upon hundreds of shelves. I think I am going to faint! I found the librarian and asked her where the books about magic were. When I found the aisle she pointed to, I didn’t waste a moment.
I read book after book, learning as much about magic as possible. I finally decide to give it a try. I see a book on the top row of the shelf. Then I start concentrating every bit of my magic into my horn and before I knew it, I was levitating the book. Once it landed next to me, I couldn’t help but cheer for myself. Wow! I did it! I actually did it!
I look at the book in front of me and become intrigued by the title: Cutie Mark Magic. I decide to read through it. Just then, I had a brilliant idea! If I learn more about the magic within cutie marks, maybe I could use it to my advantage.
I started to do research in cutie marks. I also started to practice controlling my new magic.
Silver and I moved into an apartment in Canterlot. He got a job as an assistant to a scientist while I studied day and night. Every day I would learn a new spell, developing my magical ability even further, until one day when I knew I was close to my goal.
I started to write a spell that could take away the cutie mark of a pony, and replace it with an equal sign. It took a while, but I finally understood the science behind the marks. Simply taking away the cutie mark of a pony would cause the pony to lose all their magic. However, if I could give my equal sign cutie mark, they would be strip from everything that made them unique. They would walk the same speed, have the same amount of magic and be no different from any pony else.
As I finish the spell, Silver walks through the door. ‘Hey Aria! How’s studying?’
‘I told you to call me Starlight. I don’t want anyone to know I was a siren. They might recognize the name Aria Blaze’ I say, ‘and my studying has been going great. How is work?’
Silver looked upset when I mentioned work. ‘Is everything alright?’ I ask
‘It’s just that I don’t feel important at work. It feels like I am just some kid to the professor.’
‘So…you don’t feel…equal?’
‘Exactly! I’m so glad you understand.’
This gave me the perfect opportunity to test out my spell. ‘You know what? I think I’ll go for my hourly stroll now. I need to give my legs some work too.’ I say.
Silver didn’t seem to suspect a thing. ‘Okay. Be back soon!’
I grab my saddlebag and head outside. I trot down the streets until I see the lab that Silver Comet works at. When I enter, I see a stallion working on some invention.
‘Hello? Would you happen to be the professor?’ I ask
The stallion turns around to reveal his yellow coat, curly white mane and beard and his brown vest. That is definitely what I imagined him looking like!
‘Yes? I am the professor’ the stallion replies.
‘Hi. I am Starlight Glimmer and I was hoping that you could help me with something: an experiment I am working on.’
‘I would be happy to help.’
‘Great! Could you stand still for a moment?’
The Professor stands in place. I take out a glass jar from my saddlebag and lay it on the table nearly.
‘What kind of experiment is this?’ asks the Professor.
‘It is hard to explain. You’ll see’ I say.
I start to concentrate all my magic into my horn. Once it fully charges, I shoot the beam at the Professor, my eyes fixed at his cutie mark. Slowly but surely, his cutie mark starts to peel of his body like a sticker. Once it is completely removed, I fill the empty space on his flank with an equal sign and drop the cutie mark into the glass jar, making sure to tighten the lid so that it doesn’t get out.
The professor collapses on the ground while I bask in the glory of my first equalized friend. I finally did it! I turn to the table and start to admire the cutie mark trapped inside the jar. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice behind me.
‘Professor? Sorry but I left my-‘says the voice
I turn around to find myself facing Silver ‘Aria? What are you doing here?’
I didn't know what to say. His eyes shift from me to the equalized professor to the jar on the table. ‘Aria, what have you done?’
‘I removed his cutie mark!’ I say with excitement, ‘Now you both can be equal’
His eyes look into mine with horror. ‘Are you CRAZY! This isn't what I wanted!’
I take a step back. I notice his eyes shift somewhere else. I follow his eyes to find myself looking speechlessly at my flank. Is this…my cutie mark?
‘You got your cutie mark…by taking someone else’s.’ Silver says in disbelief.
I couldn't tell if he was happy or angry, but he was definitely dumbstruck. He shakes himself out of his shock, ‘Aria, how did you take someone’s cutie mark away?’ he asks, worried.
‘Isn't it amazing? This is what I have been studying since we moved to Canterlot!’
‘THIS is what you have been using up all your time for?!’
My smile starts to disappear, ‘I thought you would be happy.’
‘How could I be happy?! You took the very individuality of some pony!’
‘What did you do THAT for?’ I ask, ‘My plan was working!’
‘Plan?! Aria, snap out of it! You don’t need power. We could live together, right here in Canterlot ’ Silver runs to the professor, helping him off the floor.
‘I got this cutie mark for a reason. Your cutie mark shows your talent in inventing and experiments. Mine shows a gift in magic. This is my path, and if you won’t follow it with me, stay out of my way!’
Before he could say another word, I run out of the building. I get to my apartment; shove whatever I think I would need into my saddlebag and race out.
I head to the train station as fast as possible and get on the nearest train I could find.
‘Excuse me but do you know where this train is leading to?’ I ask a pony sitting near me.
‘This train is going to Neighagra Falls.’
What will I do once I get there?
After a few hours, we finally arrive. Once the train comes to a halt, I walk out and explore a bit. I end up wandering so much that I find myself in the middle of a barren land, with only a single house. Where am I? It looks like no one has lived here in years. I look below me and find what looks like a stick. I thought it looked cool so I put it into my saddlebag.
I on my way back to Neighagra Falls; I see a strange area with a mountain covered in snow. I look around when I see a group of stallions laughing at another. They all looked like they were skiing and snowboarding on the mountain. The one who was being laughed at started to run in my direction. Then he drops onto the base on the path and started to cry. I don’t know why but I walk over to him.
‘Hi’ I say, ‘My name is Starlight Glimmer. What’s your name?’
The stallion looks up at me. His coat and mane were both white, which I found odd. ‘I’m “sniff” Double Diamond’
‘Is everything alright?’
‘Well…those guys on the mountain seem to think they are better than me just because their cutie mark is skiing. I love to ski, even if it isn’t my special talent.’
This is the perfect opportunity!
‘I get it.’ I sit next to him and continue, ‘Sometimes, people will think they are better than you, just because you are different.’
‘Yeah. I just wish we all could be equal.’
‘Maybe we can be. I found an ancient relic that will make every pony equal. Then we can all gain true friendship, without any pony being better than the other. Let us do it together. Let’s create equality.’
‘An ancient relic?’
I take out that stick I found a while ago and show him, ‘This is the Staff of Sameness. It is one of the 9 enchanted items of Mage Metalbrook, a very powerful unicorn.’
Is he really buying this? I know that there are only 8 enchanted items, but I just hope that he doesn’t!
‘Wow! So, this staff can bring equality?’ Double Diamond asks in amazement
‘Yes, as long as you are willing to give up your cutie mark’
‘Give up my cutie mark? I don’t know…’ Double Diamond thinks for a while and says, ‘Okay. I’ll do it. I’ll give up my cutie mark.’
‘Great! Come with me. The cutie unmarking must happen in private.’
I lead Double Diamond to the land I found earlier. We go into the house and look around for a place to do it. We find a small room and prepare for the cutie unmarking. I tell Double Diamond to stand still while I placed a glass jar onto the ground Then I pick up the staff and concentrate all my magic into my horn, then into the staff. Then I cast the spell. His cutie mark slowly starts to peel of his body as it had before. Once it comes off, I place the cutie mark into the jar and add the equal sign cutie mark onto his flank.
‘How are you feeling?’ I ask a now equalized Double Diamond
‘I-I feel-different. What did you do?’
‘I removed your cutie mark and replaced it with a new one!’
Double Diamonds looks to his flank in shock, and then looks to mine.
‘What about your cutie mark?’
‘Oh I’ll…uh…remove mine in a few minutes.’
What do I do? I can’t perform the spell without my cutie mark! But I have to show him that I want everyone to be equal, including myself. Wait! That’s it!
‘I’ll be right back.’ I say as I run out the door.
I run back to Neighagra Falls into the closest department store I could find. Inside, I buy a notebook, lavender makeup, a paintbrush and a small tube of black paint.
I run back into the room and see that Double Diamond is still there.
‘Could you give me a moment? I want to myself in private.’ I ask
‘Oh, of course’ He says as he leaves the room.
I take out the lavender make up and cover up my cutie mark. Then I tear a page from the notebook, cut out an equal sign on it and hold it up to my flank. Last, I take the paintbrush and paint and, using the paper as a stencil, paint the equal sign onto my flank.
I look at it in the mirror to make sure it looks real, and then go to see if Double Diamond was still there.
‘See? Now we are both equal!’ I say.
His face glowed when he saw the equal sign on my flank. ‘I guess we are! I am so glad. Let’s start a village right here for anyone who wants to experience TRUE FRIENDSHIP!’
Wow! This guy sounds more excited about this than I do!
Double Diamond and I constructed his house while I stayed in the already present house. As more and more people came to give up their cutie marks for some reason or the other, the village grew larger and larger. We started to run out of jars, so some pony gave the idea of constructing a vault for all the cutie marks. Before I knew it, we had become a town filled with equalized ponies, all without anything special about them, except for me. I finally found my way to power! And soon, all of Equestria will accept our philosophy, leaving me with the only real magic. And very soon, all of Equestria will be under my control.
