“So let’s go through this one more time,” said Twilight. Six collective groans met her statement as her friends faceplanted onto the armrests of their respective thrones. Yes, the castle had come as quite a surprise to all of them especially with how Twilight had discovered her key. The story was quite fascinating in how unexpected it had turned out to be.

The dragon clans, having learned of Spike’s triumphs against some of the most feared villains in history, decided that they had wanted him to return to their clans and learned the lifestyle of true dragons. Twilight, for her part, had been quite reluctant to allow Spike to pursue such a desire as she saw him as her closest friend and confidant.

To her surprise, Spike voiced his agreement with her sentiment, stating that he would always be by her side. He’d gone on to explain that it was thanks to her and her friends and family that he had come to grow up as the young drake that he was.

Unfortunately, dragons were rarely known for being understanding and didn’t like being told no. Naturally, things had begun to escalate to dangerous levels and ponies were genuinely fearful of the prospect of having to fight the dragons. However, Twilight had taken the initiative to diffuse the situation and had offered to negotiate with the dragons to come up with some sort of compromise.

The dragons, having come to realize how powerful Twilight was magically, had come to respect her power, her dedication, and her will. In the end, the dragon elder, the leader of the dragon clan had decided that it would be more to their advantage to form an alliance of sorts as opposed to being enemies. Twilight had emphatically agreed as she and Spike had made the dragon clan elder halfway in a show of unity.

Friendships between the alicorn, her dragon friend, and the dragon’s head negotiators had bloomed not long after the discussions were complete. That Spike had also been involved had certainly facilitated things.

There had even been a gift exchange in which Twilight, at Princess Luna’s insistence, had gifted the dragon elder a sword hoof crafted from the finest of gemstones and of the strongest steel that they could hope to find. In exchange, Twilight had received a draconic medallion which had more or less declared her a friend of the dragons. At the same time, Spike had ended up becoming an ambassador of sorts to help ease relations. A few seconds later, the medallion had transformed into a key, much to everyone’s mutual confusion until Twilight had realized what this had meant had to bid farewell to the dragons’ entourage before she and Spike rushed back home.

The castle had been a result. None of them really understood how Twilight had managed to acquire her key given that there wasn’t any magic that they knew of being used.

The magic of friendship was a beautiful thing...

“There’s not really much to go through Twilight,” Spike rolled his eyes as he leaned on one of the arms of his throne. “We’ve been talking about this for four hours.”

“Yeah! We’ve already gone through this a million times!” Rainbow exclaimed. “We found all the keys and we got this sweet castle after unlocking that chest of harmony! End of story!”

“Yes, but why?” Twilight Sparkle asked. “Aren’t you, at least, a bit curious?”

“I dunno sugarcube,” Applejack shrugged, “Maybe it’s just your new house and there’s nothin’ more to it than that.”

“I must say,” Rarity began, “speaking strictly on aesthetics, there really doesn’t need to be anything more to it. It’s all simply divine!” The others stared at her for several seconds. Rarity began to fidget under their scrutiny before letting out a strangled noise that made them back off.

“I agree with Twilight. And Applejack. And Rainbow Dash. And Pinkie Pie. And Discord. Oh and probably Spike,” said Fluttershy skittishly. Spike stared at her incredulously.

“You do realize that you’re agreeing with two opposing arguments right? Also, Pinkie hasn't actually said anything,” he pointed out before pausing. Actually, that in itself was strange since Pinkie was not known for being quiet. Then again, she was known for being completely unpredictable.

It was no wonder why she and Discord made such great business partners.

“In any case,” Twilight interrupted. “As princess, I’ve been chosen to spread the magic of friendship across Equestria. So why would the Tree of Harmony want us to sit in a castle in Ponyville? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“It makes perfect sense!” Spike exclaimed, facepalming at Twilight's confusion. “The castle is like a base of operations where you can plan your friendship spreading endeavors. From what I can tell, since the castle is a physical manifestation of the friendship six of you share, it seems like the castle is a tool that you’ll be using to help you spread friendship across Equestria.”

All of a sudden, the entire castle began to rumble, causing several rocks to converge from their thrones and conjure what looked to be an entire map of Equestria made out of crystal. Spike frowned when he spotted his head spines on the map along with the ponies’ cutie marks before they all traveled together and landed on a seemingly random point on the map.

“But if this is Ponyville, what are our cutie marks doing over there?” Fluttershy asked, her gaze transfixed on the spot while all of their cutie marks continued to glow and vibrate. Spike had the distinct displeasure of feeling his head spines vibrate every few seconds.

“I don’t know. But from what I can tell, it seems like the map wants us to find out. The tree, the chest, this castle, and now the map. How can we not follow it?” Twilight replied eagerly.

The others had chimed in their agreement at the prospect of a new and possibly dangerous adventure before they all departed to pack for what would be a road trip.

Spike grunted as he hopped off the station platform from a mostly uneventful train ride alongside his friends. What they saw when they got there surprised them.

Not because it was exciting or anything. Actually, for the exact opposite reason. The town was so underwhelming and boring that it would not have been a stretch to call it monotonous. Frankly, Spike was more surprised that there was any color anywhere with how dull and boring everything here seemed to be. There was no flair or excitement anywhere. Fluttershy, for her part, seemed to appreciate the peace here compared to the madness that often frequented Ponyville.

All in all, it was a pretty depressing place to live in Spike's opinion.

The scene before them was only made creepier by the strange grins on the ponies faces as well as their matching cutie marks as Twilight had pointed out. And that was to say nothing of the rags that they seemed to enjoy wearing. It was a miracle that Rarity hadn't fainted from the sheer hideousness of their garb. But that was for another time.

It was actually a curious incident: it seemed that everybody in the village had the same cutie mark. While it wasn't particularly rare for multiple ponies to have the same cutie mark, the larger the group, the less likely it was to occur. What they were seeing was practically impossible. But there they were as they trotted about, going about their business as usual.

"Maybe we should ask around about what's going on," Spike suggested from his hiding spot next to Twilight as his friends surveyed the area from afar. "It's not like we'll learn much more just by watching them... that and it makes me feel like I'm stalking them so let's not do that." The six mares nodded uneasily while Pinkie quietly uttered her distaste for those smiles on their faces.

It's almost like they were too wide and seemed forced and Pinkie didn't like it.

* * *

As the seven friends stepped into the town, they found themselves being greeted warmly by the resident ponies. Fluttershy was now convinced that this village was the most pleasant place in Equestria and her friends watched as they continued to greet her warmly. Then again, Spike, privately, couldn't really blame her since madness seemed to be the norm in Ponyville.

Rainbow, for her part, was starting to regret agreeing to come on this so called adventure. They'd already been here for ten minutes and yet nothing interesting had happened yet. She was half tempted to turn tail and head back home but she doubted she could have lived with the potential guilt of leaving her friends to fend for themselves from some monster that might have been responsible for this strangeness.

Moving on, it was not long after they realized that there was an alicorn in their midst.

"That there's the Princess of Friendship," said Applejack proudly, throwing a foreleg around a blushing Twilight as the rest of her friends collectively crowded around her in a show of affectionate friendship. The resident ponies had responded that they had come to the right place if they wanted to experience true friendship.

A white earth pony stallion who had been leading the group asked what had brought them to their quaint little village. Twilight and Spike had explained how they had found it on a magical map they had back home.

"Well, all are welcome here," he smiled at them. "Like I said, I'm Double Diamond and this is Party Favor." He gestured to the sky blue unicorn stallion next to him. Applejack had responded in kind as she introduced all her friends. Double Diamond had noted their unique cutie marks. That had brought the main issue into the limelight.

"If you don't mind me asking, there hasn't been any trouble here recently has there?" Twilight asked carefully. There was no reason to imply that there was any reason to panic.

"Trouble?" Double Diamond rubbed his face with a hoof in thought. "I don't think we've had any trouble here since this village was founded, I believe."

"That much is true," Party Favor nodded to his friend before turning back to the seven newcomers. "Perhaps you'd like to speak to our founder: Starlight Glimmer. I'm sure she can help address any concerns you might have."

"Good idea," Spike nodded from his place on Twilight's back. "I actually have a few questions I'd like to ask so hopefully she'll be able to give us some answers." They watched as the two stallions slowly trotted away before Fluttershy spoke.

"I wish everypony in Equestria was as friendly as these ponies are," she couldn't but gush. She had wilted under the gazes of her friends while Spike looked on sympathetically. She did have a point after all. Everything here seemed peaceful and it seemed like the perfect world to live in harmony with each other. Heck, the only problems Spike had were the fact that this was all located in the middle of nowhere and the disappointing deficiency of any sort of gems.

Dragons had to eat something after all.

Pinkie Pie was still suspicious as she kept her cutie mark concealed from the onlookers while she scrutinized the town carefully while she followed her friends.

In any case, the seven of them watched as Party Favor and Double Diamond knocked on the door before opening it and trotting inside. Twilight and Spike exchanged a look with the rest of their friends before following the stallions inside.

Once inside, Spike had to stifle a snort of laughter as he heard Rainbow Dash whisper to Applejack of preparing herself for a fight. If his comic books had taught him anything, it’s that evil ponies tended to hide behind a mask of charisma especially if they had something to hide. Plus, he doubted that there would be enough room to fight all that well given how small it appeared to be compared to some of the homes back in Ponyville. The newcomers were on edge as they watched the door slowly open, giving off a more than ominous air as a silhouette slowly emerged from the darkness of the previous room. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were primed and ready to attack with the mysterious figure stepped into the light.

...It was just a normal pony. Particularly, a unicorn pony with a pink coat and purple and blue mane and tail. Much like all the other ponies in the village, she also bore the equal sign cutie mark.

"Welcome!" she smiled charmingly. "I'm so pleased to have you all here."

Rainbow Dash silently groaned. It was abundantly clear that she would have preferred some monster that had been stealing the cutie marks and forcing the townsponies to play along. That, at least, would be more exciting. This, on the other hand, was probably the most underwhelming experience she'd had since she met Twilight and became a wielder of the element of loyalty.

Double Diamond had already taken the initiative as he made introductions between the seven newcomers and the town's founder: Starlight Glimmer.

"Forgive my bluntness, but I'm assuming it's Princess Twilight Sparkle? We don't get many alicorns around here." Twilight had responded by inviting the unicorn to simply call her Twilight.

"I'm sure it doesn't help that there are only four alicorns in Equestria and one happens to be in the Crystal Empire while the other two live in Canterlot and the last one being right here," Spike pointed it out. Starlight's eyes darted to him as they widened marginally before a smile stretched across her face.

"Ah, I never expected that I'd meet your young dragon friend," Starlight smiled as she looked him over before turning back to Twilight. "He's quite well known for his work in simply talking to others instead of fighting them. That's a trait that I've come to admire about you, Spike."

"That's all well and good but how do you know about Spike?" Rarity asked curiously. Starlight's horn lit up as several newspapers soared from their place on a bookshelf. Opening them, Starlight pointed to an article featuring the baby dragon along with Twilight Sparkle who, at the time, was still a unicorn as they made the deal to help strengthen relations between ponies and changelings and solidified the deal by shaking hooves or a claw in Spike's case.

Starlight had gone on to explain that it was actions like these that motivated her to continue her own work as she sought to bring ponies closer together in true friendship.

"So does that make you the mayor of this town?" Spike asked, remembering that Double Diamond had mentioned she was the founder of the village. "Since you're the founder of this town and everything."

"Oh no," Starlight chuckled as she gestured for them to sit down. "We all live in this village as equals. Nopony here is more special than anypony else." She turned to Twilight while clapping her hooves enthusiastically. "So! How did you hear of our little village?"

Twilight had explained that they had simply found it on a map. Pinkie had interjected, explaining that it was more of a tree-chest-castle-map but the idea was still the same, albeit more impressive. Starlight hadn't batted an eye during the exchange as she continued to smile serenely at them. Clearly, she had seen similar explanations in the past.

"Well, however you found us, we're happy to have you! We're happy to have anybody," she nodded at Spike, "who wants to experience true friendship for the first time." She ignored the deadpanned glare that Applejack gave her as she continued to explain.

"That's why our village is so unique, you see," she straightened a picture of an equal sign. "Around here, we don't flaunt our special talents because we don't have any special talents to flaunt."

"Is that why you all have those cutie marks?" Twilight asked, pointing to the equal sign cutie mark on Starlight's flank. Starlight nodded as she explained that these were a symbol to show that nobody was more special or superior than anybody else in their little village.

"Okay, well that's good and all but I've still got some questions I'd like to ask," Spike raised his hand. Starlight had smiled and told him that before she answered his questions, she wanted to give them a tour of the village to help them get a feel for the kind of lifestyle that they led here.

The seven friends followed as Starlight led them outside.

"Heads high, ponies! Marching proud!" They watched as she conducted a whole song for them.

Long story short, Starlight Glimmer had been working to create a village where ponies knew only happiness through equality. Differences led to arguments which led to superiority complexes and over inflated egos. The ponies had promoted teamwork and pointed out that they could never have nightmares if they couldn't dream. In the end, they had told the seven friends that having a special talent leads to ponies not seeing eye to eye which would inevitably lead to differences in opinion which would eventually lead to friendship crumbling around them. So the obvious solution was to simplify things: give up the cutie mark and receive the equality one as a show of support for the utopia.

Well that certainly explains the concept that she's been after. Spike thought as they finished their song and dance. However, that whole routine had only served to bring about more questions for the young dragon to ask the first chance he got.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were at odds about the whole thing. On the one hoof, Dash was understandably reluctant to give up her cutie mark. Aside from the fact that it looked really cool, it was also thanks to this that she had found her talent with her speed which she had come to count on as both a key identifying trait about herself as well as a critical part of her skill set. This became, even more, important when she became a reserve member for the Wonderbolts.

On the other hoof, Fluttershy had noted that the singing ponies were perfectly happy with their choice. As far as she could tell, they seemed to be leading happy and productive lives, aesthetics not withstanding.

"Don't believe their smiles, Fluttershy," Pinkie warned.

Meanwhile, the Princess of Friendship and her dragon friend turned back to Starlight. The former admitted that she was a little confused by the whole song and dance.

"It's simple," Starlight started, "we have no judgments here in our little village. Each of us was confused once as well, blinded by the false promise of our cutie marks."

Twilight had then explained that when they were sent to the village, they were under the impression that it was to help the village out in some way. "But looking around, you all seem to be getting along just fine on your own and you don't really need any help."

Starlight rubbed a hoof to her chin. "Have you considered that you might have been sent here so that we could help you?" Seeing the incredulous looks on their faces, Starlight continued. "Think about, nopony has ever come to our village has wanted to leave so why should you be any different?" She paused.

"But I'm getting ahead of myself," she flashed a small smile, "whether you stay or not is your decision. But while you're here, I hope you enjoy our little corner of Equestria. We're all quite fond of it and I'm confident that you will be as well." She turned to Double Diamond and asked him to help their guests with anything they might need. The white stallion had agreed in an instant.

That done, Starlight had turned to return back to her own home when something stopped her.

"Wait." Starlight paused to look back to see the small dragon looking at her curiously. She inclined her head to allow him to continue.

"I still have some questions and I figured that you'll be the best pony to ask since you came up with this idea in the first place," Spike told her.

"Of course," Starlight nodded. "We can talk all we want in my home." The six mares had made to go off after him but Spike had flashed them a confident grin and mouthed, I got this. I am a big dragon after all. Twilight had smiled wryly as she watched the pair set off before turning to her friends, wondering aloud on what they ought to do first.

* * *

"So you had some questions for me, Spike?" Starlight asked as she sipped her tea while Spike sat across from her, favoring with a simple glass of water.

"Oh yeah," Spike nodded. "I was actually curious about how you came up with the idea that equality through giving up one's cutie marks would actually lead to peace because it evidently worked out quite well here."

Starlight looked uncomfortable but nodded to herself. It was an innocuous question and it wasn't really something that she needed to hide. She had begun to explain how she had come from humble beginnings. She was a filly with parents who were struggling to feed her. Because of her situation, few ever gave her the time of day yet alone became friends with her.

That was until she had met a colt named Sunburst. From there on, the two had stuck together like superglue.

And then came the day Sunburst had left her behind. Granted, he had saved her from a tower of books that would have otherwise fallen on her. His family had realized his talent for magic and sent him off to Canterlot.

"It was because he'd gotten his cutie mark and thus realized his special talent that I never got to see him again, no matter how hard I tried to find him or contact him, none of my letters ever went through and he never tried to keep in touch with me."

Initially, Spike had been incredulous about Starlight's reason for pursuing this ideology but as she told her story and how it had affected her, Spike had decided against commenting about it. After all, she had done everything in her power to maintain their friendship but it seemed that Sunburst had not reciprocated.

"But didn't you try to make other friends to move on?" Spike asked.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Spike," Starlight began, "After Sunburst left, it took me a long time to recover since it was such a personal blow to my self-esteem. After all, I was so emotionally invested in that friendship that when it ended the way it did, I was too scared to start making friends with other ponies so I ultimately withdrew into myself."

Well that made a lot more sense that Starlight simply blaming the cutie mark itself.

"So how did that experience translate into giving up cutie marks for equality?" Spike asked. "Because at that time, you didn't seem to give too much thought to equality in and of itself."

"That part had come later," Starlight replied. "Actually, it was an idea that I had come up with when I started traveling around and seeing all sorts of different places just to see how the ponies in those areas lived their lives."

Starlight had gone on to explain how cutie marks had ended up establishing a sort of unspoken caste system among pony society. That idea had come about when she had noticed how cutie marks were an indication of a special talent but also a means of ostracism among the younger generations. Spike could agree with that given how much flak Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo had gotten for not having theirs. Still, he was surprised to hear that even after getting a cutie mark, if it didn't look impressive, it could become a means of ostracism.

From there, she had explained her desire to work to push for reforms that would allow ponies to shape their own destinies. She had proven herself a vehement believer that ponies should be able to define their own destinies and not have to be defined by a cutie mark.

Starlight's speech had definitely caught Spike off guard as he took in what she said. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense: a lot of the ponies from high society places like Canterlot or Manehatten had cutie marks that could lead those ponies to a high earning jobs like doctors or lawyers while several lower wage working ponies had cutie marks that seemed to discriminate against them especially given what species of ponies seem to earn talents in certain tasks related to their species.

"So you're telling me that only certain species of ponies can get certain jobs?" Spike asked incredulously while internally feeling grateful that he was a dragon and, therefore, didn't have to deal with the whole cutie mark thing.

"That's what I've gathered," Starlight nodded. "So I thought that if I could convince them to give up their 'special' talents then I could at least give them a chance to pursue a different talent that might interest them if they so desired."

The way Starlight was talking now reminded Spike of Princess Amore who had uttered similar words to Sombra and Radiant Hope when she'd met them looking into the Crystal Heart. Shaking his head, he turned back to Starlight.

"But even then, couldn't the equal sign cutie marks be easily mistaken for a talent in math... or in spell creation?" Spike asked. "Wouldn't it be kind of confusing since my first thought when I spotted all the equal signs was: 'Sweet Celestia, we've stumbled into a village filled with math wizards'."

Starlight had to stifle a laugh at Spike's question as she pondered it. She had to admit that it was a good question.

"Well I suppose I can see how you might come about that line of thinking if you came into town without knowing anything about it beforehoof," Starlight conceded. "But if all the ponies in this town had a talent in math then I think you'd see a lot more formulas in the dirt all around the place if only because we don't exactly have any chalkboards here."

"So what about economy? How do you all sustain yourselves if you live by this whole equality ideal?" Spike asked. "I mean, I doubt that you divide and conquer because that would lead to differences right and some ponies having some sort of superiority complex." Clearly Spike had been paying more attention to the song's lyrics that she and the others had sung that she'd expected.

Starlight grimaced. She'd hoped that he wouldn't have asked that but still, it wasn't like she had anything to hide.

Now if only she believed that.

Sighing, she explained how they had all worked together to get everything done where it was possible. Sure, it wasn't the most effective way of getting things done but it did serve as a team building exercise and had brought the community closer together through that teamwork.

"Well the town seems to get along well enough," Spike noted. "But the method that you described for equality doesn't really bring equality to the three pony races though does it? Because if you think about it: unicorns regardless of whether they have their cutie mark can still perform basic magic. Pegasi can still fly and earth ponies still have their strength and endurance. And what about the non-pony species? How do they play into all of this?"

Starlight grimaced. She hadn't really taken those factors into account when she'd come up with her plan as much as she hated to admit it.

Keep calm Starlight. He may have brought up some legitimate points but you also need to show why this is the best course of action Starlight thought as she watched Spike take a small sip of his water while she strained her mind for a suitable argument.

"I'll be honest. I'm not really sure what I can do to even the playing field especially for earth ponies who more often than not seem to get the short end of the stick since their talents lie in farming or construction which is part of the reason I'm going through with this.” She said. “With this route, I can, at least, give them a new lease on life so that they could, if so desired, try to find a talent in something else." She smiled at him. "But to everypony that has embraced equality, they've never wanted to leave and have lived simple but happy lives here."

"I guess," said Spike skeptically. "But humor me for a bit, let's say that, in the case of one non-pony species, gets picked on or teased for not being a pony, how could equality come into play here. I can only think of having them get equal rights and protections under the law as well as the equality of opportunity." Spike was more than glad that he'd been paying attention while Princess Celestia had begun to teach both him and Twilight the basics about politics after the changeling invasion.

"Well given that most species that aren't ponies don't have cutie marks then the magic that is used to remove cutie marks wouldn't work with them," Starlight grimaced. She hadn't considered the possibility of a non-pony coming to their village

"So doesn't it seem a bit unfair that this ideal of friendship that you're spreading is something that is exclusive only to ponies and by that line undermines everything you've been talking about up until now?" Spike asked.

Starlight was stunned. No, her mind had just been blown out of the water.

Spike, for his part, had grimaced. He hadn't meant for it to go in that direction as he watched Starlight's eyes go blank. He quickly moved to her side, snapping his claws to get her attention. Sighing in relief when he had, Spike continued on as a new a potentially wonderful idea came to mind.

But first...

"So you've been mentioning that ponies have been giving up their cutie marks," Spike started. "How do they do that?"

Starlight had explained the existence of an artifact called the Staff of Sameness. It was apparently one Meadowbrook's nine enchanted items which will allow a pony to use its powers to remove their cutie marks. She had gone on to explain that it was an artifact that could not be used to forcibly remove a pony's cutie mark when she saw the questioning look on his face. She had finished her explanation by explaining that their cutie marks were kept in a vault up in the mountains. The ponies were free to visit them as a reminder to the terrible lives that they used to live. With that statement, it was clear that these ponies had given up their talents entirely of their own free will if what Starlight was saying was the truth.

Spike noted that she really did want to make Equestria a better and happier place. He thought at that at the core, her ideas that ponies should been treated equally and fairly irrespective of their status or talents was in retrospect a good idea. He couldn't help but wonder if he could put a new spin on it and ask her to present her ideas to the princesses.

It would make for good PR in any case. When he posed the idea to Starlight, it had the effect her eyes go wide. If she did that then maybe she had a chance to explain her ideology to the most politically powerful figures in Equestria.

Spike stood up and thanked Starlight for taking the time to talk with him. It certainly cleared up a lot of questions he had about the village. Starlight had responded that she had enjoyed the conversation as well as she enjoyed talking with those who expressed a genuine interest and gave a great deal of thought about the lifestyle that she promoted. A mare had guided Spike back to the cottage she had lent to Princess Twilight and her friends and once she saw the door close, she heaved a sigh of relief before looking back at the mountain.

She had a lot of thinking to do.

* * *

“Are you sure about this Starlight?” Double Diamond asked cautiously as he and Starlight walked further into the cave. “What if what Spike was saying was actually incorrect and he is simply trying to force you from the path that you’ve worked toward this entire time!”

“As far as I’m concerned, Spike and I want the same thing: equal rights for all. Taking away cutie marks was just a means to reach that end and it wasn’t even an effective means in hindsight,” Starlight replied, her horn aglow as she unlocked the vault. At the same time, she thought back to the ponies she had spoken with and asked for their opinion about her ideology. She could tell that they agreed with it on the surface but to the extent that she had taken this, it was too far in her eyes.

“But Starlight!” the stallion protested, “what about the townsponies? Won’t it be seen as you undermining your past statements if you go through with this?”

“I’ll give them the choice,” Starlight replied without missing a beat as she collected as many cutie marks as she could in her magical grip. “If they want their cutie marks back, I’ll gladly help them and if they don’t want them, I’ll give them the container that holds them should they change their mind later. Talking to Spike, I’ve learned that there will never be equality if I force other ponies to conform to my desires. That’ll only serve to undermine the ideology that I’ve been preaching and that doesn’t exactly set a good precedent. It also makes me no better than the tyrants that I’m fighting.”

The stallion was clearly struggling for a counterargument. Starlight sighed.

“Look Double Diamond. I never said that I was giving up my dream of bringing equality to Equestria,” said Starlight wearily. “It’s just that there is so much more that I should have realized before I haphazardly went on this quest. What Spike’s been doing: helping those who've had bad reputation get a new lease on life and move past all the bad things they had done in the past. I should be doing more of that. All I’ve done by taking away these ponies’ cutie marks is potentially ruining their lives and possibly their well being.”

“What if somepony tries to claim a cutie mark that isn’t theirs!?” the stallion named Double Diamond asked. It was clear that he was grasping at straws now.

“Cutie marks only respond to their original owners, namely the pony whose flank they had originally appeared when they were earned so stealing somepony's cutie mark is next to impossible," Starlight replied.

“But what about the promises of a second chance?” the Double Diamond asked frantically. “You said that taking away their cutie marks would give them the chance to find a better lot in life.”

“Which is why I’m giving them the choice,” Starlight sighed as they headed out of the cave. “If they want their marks back. They can have them. If they don’t then they can still keep them contained while they pursue a new interest or if they change their minds about their lot in life.”

* * *

The next day proved to be quite a surprise to the seven friends as they stepped outside of their guest cottage at the commotion going on outside.

To the surprise of everyone, Starlight was carrying several glass jars containing cutie marks in a large wagon. She forced a smile on her face as she noticed the long line of ponies patiently waiting to get their cutie marks back. As each cutie mark was returned, Starlight noticed just how much brighter both the pony, and their coat's sheen have brightened, and the town itself seemed to be brighter. By the time she had finished returning the last of the cutie marks, the town was practically a festival. Ponies were talking happily, leaving Starlight stunned for more than a few reasons.

“I see you decided to return the cutie marks.” It was an offhand comment but it took the unicorn mare by surprise as she jumped a little in her seat as she spotted Twilight, Spike, and her friends watching the proceedings with interest.

“I thought I was bringing true friendship to these ponies by freeing them of their cutie marks but... looking at them now…” Starlight stared at them sadly before sighing and turning back to the newcomers. “I'm just not sure anymore.”

“You could always stay here and discover this new wave of friendship,” Twilight suggested. “I don’t know what the future might hold in store for you if you choose to stay here. But I think it’ll be interesting to find out. Don’t you think?”

"I suppose," Starlight conceded. "But that still doesn't change the fact that I want to make Equestria a better place for everybody although in retrospect, there were probably many different ways to go about doing that."

"So what will you do now?" Spike asked.

"Once I'm done here I'll probably go to Canterlot to talk to the princesses about some of the equal rights amendments I have in mind. If it goes like I'm hoping it will friendships between different species will be more easily forged."

Spike had then suggested she could come with them to Ponyville in order to learn from Twilight about the friendship she had in mind. Starlight had readily agreed. If she wanted to spread friendship and make ponies happier than learning more about friendship itself could only help her.

Twilight had her friends had blinked when they felt their cutie marks or head spine in Spike's case glow and vibrate. Twilight realized that this had meant that they had resolved the friendship problem that they had come to resolve.

Twilight, Spike, and all of their friends had led Starlight to the train station when they heard a voice call out to them.

The two turned around to find a light pink mare rushing up to them. Spike’s first impression was that she was a unicorn version of Pinkie given her poofy mane and cheery disposition.

“I’m so glad I managed to find you,” she panted. “I wanted to give you all something for your journey.” Her horn lit up as she pulled out a large box. The pair opened it to find a dozen cupcakes inside. Pinkie had been excited and only a burst of magic from Twilight that forcibly stopped her from eating them all herself.

At the confused looks, she explained. “I don’t where your journey will take you but I figured that it couldn’t hurt to have something to keep your spirits up. Starlight, while you did take our cutie marks, I can understand why you did it. Plus it did help build a friendship between ponies who would have probably had never talked to each other so I have to be thankful for that.”

Starlight’s face was tear-stained as she found herself hugging the mare. The mare in turn smiled awkwardly while rubbing her back soothingly. Starlight’s face burned with resolve as she separated and placed the box in her saddlebags.

“Last call!”

The eight nodded before the unicorn mare waved to seven and Starlight who boarded the train. That was when the most curious thing happened.

Namely, the sound of hooves against the ground like a stampede.

Starlight and Twilight exchanged looks as they spotted more and more ponies waving happily. Pinkie for her part was happy to note that they were wearing genuine smiles this time. It was clear that for all the anguish that Starlight had inadvertently caused, there were still plenty of ponies that understood what she was trying to do and had appreciated the fostered community that she created albeit unintentionally.

The eight of them quickly took their seats and continued to wave as the train rolled out the station. They had then stared out the window: one eager for her next big adventure and the others happy to be returning home.

Author's Note

So that concludes Talking is Magic for our main series antagonists. I'm honored that you all decided to join me on this ride and hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope my reasoning made sense and I hope you liked the way I managed to retcon in the Friendship Castle into the story.

Also, I'd like to thank The Pony Spartan for editing and pre-reading this chapter.

As always, thanks for reading.